Kitchen Design
Before and Afters
Kitchen of the Week: Bright and Warm in Creamy White and Wood
A designer rejiggers her kitchen to create an efficient layout with an inviting style and small-space storage solutions
Designer Nicolette Jarquin and her husband, David, bought their 1925 bungalow as a fixer-upper. Spending five years with the 1960s-remodeled kitchen gave them plenty of time to identify everything they disliked about it. Which was pretty much everything — wood-paneled walls, wood cabinets, yellowed vinyl sheet flooring, laminate countertops, fluorescent lighting, even the layout.
When their new range stopped working, they discovered an electrical issue that convinced them they couldn’t put off a kitchen update any longer. So they took the former space down to the studs and started anew by flipping the location of the kitchen with a dining area to create a more open layout that includes a narrow island with seating. Creamy white cabinets and zellige-style backsplash tile join light wood cabinets and island base and wood-look luxury vinyl plank flooring to deliver a bright yet warm style.
When their new range stopped working, they discovered an electrical issue that convinced them they couldn’t put off a kitchen update any longer. So they took the former space down to the studs and started anew by flipping the location of the kitchen with a dining area to create a more open layout that includes a narrow island with seating. Creamy white cabinets and zellige-style backsplash tile join light wood cabinets and island base and wood-look luxury vinyl plank flooring to deliver a bright yet warm style.
After: Jarquin knocked the kitchen back to the studs and flipped the layout, pushing the kitchen into the former dining area. This allowed her to create a more efficient L-shaped layout with a narrow island that’s about 2 by 5½ feet. “The island was designed to feel like a piece of furniture,” she says. “It’s great for chatting and having the kids with me while I cook.”
Creamy off-white semicustom maple upper cabinets and tall pantry cabinets on the right have Shaker-style doors. The lower cabinets are hickory in a tan-colored stain. “The two-tone cabinetry is a trend, and I’ve done it a lot,” Jarquin says. “It keeps things light. I put the stain on the bottom because it’s incredibly durable. My 3-year-old actually came along with his toy truck and rode it along the bottom cabinetry, and there were no scratches.”
The tall pantry cabinets include rollout shelves for dry goods. “There’s three double doors in that pantry, and one-third of that is for my vacuum, brooms and all of my cleaning supplies,” Jarquin says.
In the foreground, a 42-inch round tulip table and four midcentury-modern-style wood chairs with charcoal-colored cushions form a breakfast area.
Cabinets: maple in Coconut finish (uppers and pantry) and rustic hickory with a Buckskin stain (lowers), Breman Shaker door style, Diamond by MasterBrand Cabinets; wall paint: Mascarpone, Benjamin Moore
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Creamy off-white semicustom maple upper cabinets and tall pantry cabinets on the right have Shaker-style doors. The lower cabinets are hickory in a tan-colored stain. “The two-tone cabinetry is a trend, and I’ve done it a lot,” Jarquin says. “It keeps things light. I put the stain on the bottom because it’s incredibly durable. My 3-year-old actually came along with his toy truck and rode it along the bottom cabinetry, and there were no scratches.”
The tall pantry cabinets include rollout shelves for dry goods. “There’s three double doors in that pantry, and one-third of that is for my vacuum, brooms and all of my cleaning supplies,” Jarquin says.
In the foreground, a 42-inch round tulip table and four midcentury-modern-style wood chairs with charcoal-colored cushions form a breakfast area.
Cabinets: maple in Coconut finish (uppers and pantry) and rustic hickory with a Buckskin stain (lowers), Breman Shaker door style, Diamond by MasterBrand Cabinets; wall paint: Mascarpone, Benjamin Moore
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The backsplash consists of zellige-style 5-by-5-inch ceramic tiles in varying cream tones. “I was looking for something that looked handmade and kind of earthy,” Jarquin says. “I really like the zellige tiles but was concerned about the cleaning because they’re uneven, which is the beauty of that look. These tiles give you that handmade look, but they’re flatter and easier to clean.”
The countertops are a polished white quartz with inky black veining that complements other black details, including the matte black range hood. “I really tried hard not to do the traditional gray-and-white marble look,” Jarquin says.
The range is a 30-inch slide-in stainless steel induction model.
Backsplash: Cloe in Creme, 5 by 5 inches, Bedrosians Tile and Stone; countertops: White Attica, Caesarstone; range: Benchmark induction slide-in, 30 inches, Bosch; range hood: Savona Wall in matte black, Zephyr
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The countertops are a polished white quartz with inky black veining that complements other black details, including the matte black range hood. “I really tried hard not to do the traditional gray-and-white marble look,” Jarquin says.
The range is a 30-inch slide-in stainless steel induction model.
Backsplash: Cloe in Creme, 5 by 5 inches, Bedrosians Tile and Stone; countertops: White Attica, Caesarstone; range: Benchmark induction slide-in, 30 inches, Bosch; range hood: Savona Wall in matte black, Zephyr
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Wood-look luxury vinyl plank flooring adds warmth and a family-friendly surface that’s waterproof and stain- and scratch-resistant. “This flooring is budget-friendly and durable,” Jarquin says.
A foam pad that mimics the look of a rug covers the area in front of the sink. Another is in front of the range. “They’re great because you can just wipe them down if you spill on them,” Jarquin says.
Foam pad: Taryn in Wildberry, GelPro; cabinet hardware: Barrington collection, Channing cabinet pull and knob in Sable finish, Top Knobs
A foam pad that mimics the look of a rug covers the area in front of the sink. Another is in front of the range. “They’re great because you can just wipe them down if you spill on them,” Jarquin says.
Foam pad: Taryn in Wildberry, GelPro; cabinet hardware: Barrington collection, Channing cabinet pull and knob in Sable finish, Top Knobs
A towel rack in an iron black finish is mounted on the end of the island across from the range. “This is one of my favorite details,” Jarquin says. “This was a good place for it, and I use it a ton.”
Two handmade ceramic pendant lights hang over the sink area. “My kitchen is really narrow, and a pendant over the island felt too heavy,” Jarquin says. “I had this large window over the sink, and it felt more balanced having the two lights on the perimeter wall.”
The kitchen also has recessed LED ceiling lights and undercabinet light strips over task areas.
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Two handmade ceramic pendant lights hang over the sink area. “My kitchen is really narrow, and a pendant over the island felt too heavy,” Jarquin says. “I had this large window over the sink, and it felt more balanced having the two lights on the perimeter wall.”
The kitchen also has recessed LED ceiling lights and undercabinet light strips over task areas.
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An undermount stainless steel single-basin sink can adequately handle the dishes. “I just wanted something modern and deep,” Jarquin says. “I wanted something where I could put in dirty dishes and not see them from the dining area.”
A matte black pull-down faucet coordinates with other black finishes in the kitchen.
Faucet: Joleena HighArc in matte black, Hansgrohe
A matte black pull-down faucet coordinates with other black finishes in the kitchen.
Faucet: Joleena HighArc in matte black, Hansgrohe
A tilt-out panel in front of the sink has trays to store sponges, scrubbers and bottle brushes. “This is a small kitchen and I wanted to squeeze in as much storage as I could,” Jarquin says.
A paneled pullout trash and recycling center sits to the left of the new stainless dishwasher.
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In a corner to the right of the sink, floating walnut shelves offer open storage for plants and decorative items. “My dream was to have a trailing plant that goes all the way down to the counter,” Jarquin says. “It’s not there yet, but it’s growing.”
A lower corner cabinet features a folding door that opens to a large lazy Susan with chrome railing. “That’s where I put my small appliances,” Jarquin says. “You get more height than you do with drawers. My big stockpot and tall glass pitchers are also stored there.”
The drawer between the corner cabinet and range offers dividers that keep utensils organized and within easy reach of the cooking area.
The cabinet below includes pullout shelves for storing cookware and the couple’s teakettle and grill pan.
Three wide drawers to the right of the range hold cooking utensils and gadgets, baking supplies like measuring cups, and food containers for leftovers.
The cabinet above has a swing-out spice rack.
Before: This floor plan of the former kitchen shows how a peninsula (center) split the room, creating a tightly packed kitchen (left) and dining area (right).
After: Jarquin flipped the arrangement to create a more open L-shaped layout with a narrow island (center). “Now the kitchen is so much more functional and feels so much better,” she says.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Nicolette Jarquin; her husband, David; and their two sons
Location: Eureka, California
Size: 206 square feet (19 square meters)
Designer: Nicolette Jarquin of Arcata Cabinet & Design
Before: The former kitchen had been remodeled in the 1960s, and the Jarquins thought it looked stuck in that time period. Aging wood cabinets and wall paneling gave it a dreary feel, and yellow-toned vinyl sheet flooring and laminate countertops did little to uplift the look.
A shallow double-bowl stainless steel sink (just out of view on the left) made washing large pots and pans almost impossible. “I detested that sink,” Jarquin says. Plus, the countertop had separated from the backsplash, creating a gap between the two. “So when you’re washing dishes, all the splashing water went right into that crack,” Jarquin says.
Meanwhile, a peninsula cut the kitchen off from the dining area, which oddly featured a bank of upper cabinets over a window.