Kitchen of the Week: Blue-and-Wood Style for an Empty-Nest Couple
A designer opens up and expands a kitchen to gain square footage and improve storage, circulation and style
This empty-nest couple disliked a lot about their kitchen. A peninsula divided it from the family room. An eat-in area with a desk wasted square footage. And boring finishes in similar tones ran together — honey maple cabinets, mottled, hand-scraped wood flooring and brown granite for the countertops and backsplash.
The couple hired designer Lori Ramsay to help them sort out the issues, maximize storage and add fresh style. Ramsay removed the peninsula and expanded the kitchen into the former eat-in area. A new large island improves workflow and includes seating. Ample cabinets add tons of storage. A dashing two-tone cabinet approach combines dark blue with light-stained maple. Patterned backsplash tile nods to the home’s Mediterranean style.
The couple hired designer Lori Ramsay to help them sort out the issues, maximize storage and add fresh style. Ramsay removed the peninsula and expanded the kitchen into the former eat-in area. A new large island improves workflow and includes seating. Ample cabinets add tons of storage. A dashing two-tone cabinet approach combines dark blue with light-stained maple. Patterned backsplash tile nods to the home’s Mediterranean style.
After: This photo was taken from about the same spot as the previous one. Ramsay pushed the kitchen into the eat-in dining area, placing the main sink on the left beneath a window. She widened the opening between the kitchen and dining room to improve their connection. “It made both rooms more functional and accessible,” she says. “It also made the dining room more casual.”
Ramsay also removed the peninsula to open the kitchen up to the family room. The new large island adds storage and seating. “The client had all of this in mind,” Ramsay says. “She wanted to open up the flow and make the kitchen feel more open.” Engineered white oak plank flooring creates a lighter foundation. The flooring inspired the finish on the cabinets, Ramsay says.
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Ramsay also removed the peninsula to open the kitchen up to the family room. The new large island adds storage and seating. “The client had all of this in mind,” Ramsay says. “She wanted to open up the flow and make the kitchen feel more open.” Engineered white oak plank flooring creates a lighter foundation. The flooring inspired the finish on the cabinets, Ramsay says.
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The cabinets combine stained maple on the fridge and range walls with dark blue (After Midnight by Benjamin Moore) for the island base and sink wall. “It was the client who wanted a two-tone look, and she didn’t want white,” Ramsay says. “She wanted blue and she’s really sophisticated, so I thought this midnight blue would be great for the aesthetic she was going for and would also coordinate with the maple.”
Ramsay couldn’t completely remove the soffit, so she shrunk it and layered crown molding on the cabinets to conceal it. New vents now exit the ceiling. Ramsay also repositioned some LED ceiling lights and added new ones, all on dimmers. A pair of transitional-style pendant lights over the island have large blown-glass shades and an aged brass finish. “My client selected them,” Ramsay says. “She saw them in a local shop and admired them for years and couldn’t wait to get them in her new kitchen.”
The hardworking wall on the right includes wall ovens, a paneled 42-inch built-in French door fridge and tons of pantry cabinet and drawer storage. The countertops are jumbo quartz slabs.
Cabinetry hardware: Ascendra in flat black and honey bronze, Top Knobs; paneled refrigerator: Dacor; pendant lights: Calix, Uttermost; paint colors: White Dove (walls) and Chantilly Lace (trim), Benjamin Moore
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Ramsay couldn’t completely remove the soffit, so she shrunk it and layered crown molding on the cabinets to conceal it. New vents now exit the ceiling. Ramsay also repositioned some LED ceiling lights and added new ones, all on dimmers. A pair of transitional-style pendant lights over the island have large blown-glass shades and an aged brass finish. “My client selected them,” Ramsay says. “She saw them in a local shop and admired them for years and couldn’t wait to get them in her new kitchen.”
The hardworking wall on the right includes wall ovens, a paneled 42-inch built-in French door fridge and tons of pantry cabinet and drawer storage. The countertops are jumbo quartz slabs.
Cabinetry hardware: Ascendra in flat black and honey bronze, Top Knobs; paneled refrigerator: Dacor; pendant lights: Calix, Uttermost; paint colors: White Dove (walls) and Chantilly Lace (trim), Benjamin Moore
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Two built-in pantry cabinets to the right of the refrigerator optimize storage and replace the awkward walk-in pantry. “She was terrified when I wanted to take away the walk-in pantry, but I was able to give her better-functioning and more ample storage,” Ramsay says.
This pantry cabinet holds the couple’s coffee maker, coffee supplies and other small appliances. Drawers below hold flatware, place mats and breakfast items.
12 Clever Kitchen Cabinet Storage Ideas
This pantry cabinet holds the couple’s coffee maker, coffee supplies and other small appliances. Drawers below hold flatware, place mats and breakfast items.
12 Clever Kitchen Cabinet Storage Ideas
The other pantry cabinet offers easy-access storage for dry goods like pasta, jars of sauce, condiments and other cooking essentials. Shelves added on both doors store spices and other smaller items.
The backsplash is handcrafted terra-cotta tile with a modern Mediterranean-style pattern and soft white grout. “This was where I pushed the client to be a bit more adventurous,” Ramsay says. “The client originally wanted to run the quartz on the counters up the backsplash. The reason we picked this tile and the pattern specifically was that it has pattern, and this space needed to have some pattern. But at the same time, the pattern wasn’t so defined it would draw lots of attention to it. It’s warm and inviting and interesting at the same time but didn’t dominate the space.”
A versatile 36-inch gas cooktop sits below a custom plaster hood with gentle curves. “We wanted the hood to be another handcrafted, organic feature that would work well with the tile,” Ramsay says. “We really liked the curve. It’s modern but has a nod to a timeless Mediterranean style.” Glass-front upper cabinets help lighten the look.
Backsplash tile: Tabarka Studio; cooktop: Dacor
10 Tips for Designing a Kitchen That’s Easy to Keep Organized
A versatile 36-inch gas cooktop sits below a custom plaster hood with gentle curves. “We wanted the hood to be another handcrafted, organic feature that would work well with the tile,” Ramsay says. “We really liked the curve. It’s modern but has a nod to a timeless Mediterranean style.” Glass-front upper cabinets help lighten the look.
Backsplash tile: Tabarka Studio; cooktop: Dacor
10 Tips for Designing a Kitchen That’s Easy to Keep Organized
The drawer below the wall ovens stores roasting pans. The upper cabinet has dividers for baking sheets and cutting boards. Wood shelves also help lighten the look of the range wall by breaking up the expanses of cabinetry. “That back wall is angled, so it took the fabricator some time to get those shelves just right,” Ramsay says. A slim corner pullout below the shelves stores a stepladder for reaching the upper cabinets.
In the new sink area, two countertop storage towers feature hammered-glass doors. “The hammered glass obscures the details inside while also allowing for a lighter look,” Ramsay says. The towers flank a handcrafted curved apron-front sink with an earthy finish.
A gold-tone pull-down faucet has a knurled handle and a coordinating water dispenser. A clear glass pendant light with a rich burnished brass finish hangs above. The window overlooks the lush backyard garden.
Pendant light: Garrett in burnished brass, Visual Comfort
A gold-tone pull-down faucet has a knurled handle and a coordinating water dispenser. A clear glass pendant light with a rich burnished brass finish hangs above. The window overlooks the lush backyard garden.
Pendant light: Garrett in burnished brass, Visual Comfort
The sink area also includes the existing stainless steel dishwasher, paneled pullout trash and recycling center and a beverage and wine refrigerator. “For this kitchen, I really thought about work zones instead of a work triangle,” Ramsay says.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Before: This photo shows the angled corner walk-in pantry and how the open door blocked access to the microwave. The bulky peninsula cut off connection to the family room.
After: With the peninsula out of the way, the kitchen and family room enjoy a strong connection. “It gives them everything they wanted,” Ramsay says. “A place to gather, functional work areas and improved flow to the family room and dining room.”
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: An empty-nest couple
Location: Carlsbad, California
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Lori Ramsay Design
Before: The former kitchen had an abundance of brown tones that ran together. The honey maple cabinets, brown granite countertops and backsplash, and hand-scraped wood flooring looked and felt dated. “This client has a good design sense, and the kitchen was pretty boring,” Ramsay says.
A two-level peninsula contained the main sink and cut off the kitchen from the family room. A small island with a prep sink lacked adequate storage. An awkwardly angled walk-in pantry to the right of the paneled fridge felt like wasted space, and when its door was open it blocked the microwave. On the left, an eat-in dining area took up 50 square feet and was just steps from the dining room seen through the opening at back. A soffit wrapped the room, pushing the upper cabinets down and giving the room a heavy appearance.