Kitchen of the Week: Expanded Layout in Fresh Green and Warm Wood
A designer takes down walls and overhauls a floor plan to create a roomy new kitchen with an island and welcoming style
To give these homeowners a more spacious and open kitchen, their designer, Kerri Reesey, had an intriguing proposal: Flip spaces. By taking down walls and swapping the location of the kitchen with a dining area and adding a 5-foot bump-out, she was able to radically reconfigure the look and feel of the kitchen and surrounding areas. The moves more than doubled the square footage of the now-open kitchen and resulted in better circulation and more natural light. A warm and welcoming maple island creates a hub for gathering and features abundant prep space. Pine-wrapped structural steel beams and oak hardwood flooring add warmth. Green perimeter cabinets enhance the inviting style.
After: The white door seen here is the same door in the previous photo, illustrating how drastically Reesey reconfigured the layout. (See floor plans below.) She took down walls and moved the kitchen into the former dining area. She then moved the dining area to the location of the kitchen and created a 5-foot bump-out to enlarge the footprint. These moves helped increase the kitchen by 188 square feet.
Structural steel ceiling beams made the open layout possible. Reesey wrapped the beams in milled pine to create architectural interest and add a warm detail. The stained solid maple island base and new oak hardwood flooring anchor the room in warmth. The perimeter cabinets are painted a fresh, sophisticated green (Dried Thyme by Sherwin-Williams). “I felt doing one single color was too much, especially with this extent of cabinetry,” Reesey says. “Doing the island with the wood tied in with the wood-wrapped beams, making it all more cohesive.”
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Structural steel ceiling beams made the open layout possible. Reesey wrapped the beams in milled pine to create architectural interest and add a warm detail. The stained solid maple island base and new oak hardwood flooring anchor the room in warmth. The perimeter cabinets are painted a fresh, sophisticated green (Dried Thyme by Sherwin-Williams). “I felt doing one single color was too much, especially with this extent of cabinetry,” Reesey says. “Doing the island with the wood tied in with the wood-wrapped beams, making it all more cohesive.”
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The island has an oil-based stain that enhances the wood grain. Black metal swivel stools help make the island a gathering spot. The countertops are marble-look quartz. The island slab creates a continuous, expansive prep space. “I feel quartz is an economical and durable choice for families,” Reesey says.
A backsplash featuring matte white scallop-shaped ceramic tiles brightens the room and adds visual movement. An upgraded 30-inch induction range sits below a hood with wood trim that coordinates with the other wood details in the room. A stainless steel 36-inch counter-depth 4-door smart refrigerator (partially visible) is to the left of the sink.
A pair of modern pendant lights over the island coordinate with other black and brass finishes used in the room. (The kitchen also has recessed LED ceiling lights, which were digitally removed by the photographer to highlight other design details.)
Backsplash: Prado in Andalucia, Mirazur collection, Sonoma Tilemakers; pendant lights: Blaine 16-inch, Rejuvenation; paint colors: Wind’s Breath (walls) and Super White (trim), Benjamin Moore
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A backsplash featuring matte white scallop-shaped ceramic tiles brightens the room and adds visual movement. An upgraded 30-inch induction range sits below a hood with wood trim that coordinates with the other wood details in the room. A stainless steel 36-inch counter-depth 4-door smart refrigerator (partially visible) is to the left of the sink.
A pair of modern pendant lights over the island coordinate with other black and brass finishes used in the room. (The kitchen also has recessed LED ceiling lights, which were digitally removed by the photographer to highlight other design details.)
Backsplash: Prado in Andalucia, Mirazur collection, Sonoma Tilemakers; pendant lights: Blaine 16-inch, Rejuvenation; paint colors: Wind’s Breath (walls) and Super White (trim), Benjamin Moore
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Before: Here’s a look at the former 118-square-foot dining room, which sat on the other side of the kitchen wall that held the fridge. “With such a limited size in the overall floor plan, this was one of those homes I walked into and knew I could make a huge impact,” Reesey says. (Note the location of the windows here for orienting in the following photo.)
After: The kitchen’s 32-inch single-basin workstation sink now sits below new windows that are in the same location as the former dining room windows. The pull-down faucet has an oil-rubbed bronze finish that coordinates with other bronze finishes in the kitchen. A 24-inch built-in stainless steel dishwasher to the left of the sink has a family-friendly coating that resists fingerprints and smudges.
Sink: Undermount stainless steel one-bowl kitchen sink with accessories, 32 inch, Kraus USA; faucet: Moen; windows: Harvey Building Products
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Sink: Undermount stainless steel one-bowl kitchen sink with accessories, 32 inch, Kraus USA; faucet: Moen; windows: Harvey Building Products
12 Clever Kitchen Cabinet Storage Ideas
A corner cabinet to the right of the sink has a lazy Susan to hold mixing bowls and other kitchen essentials. A trash and recycling pullout is to the right of the range. The interior side of the island includes a combination of drawers and cabinets, as well as a 30-inch built-in stainless steel microwave drawer. The cabinetry hardware consists of pulls in honey bronze on the island and oil-rubbed bronze on the perimeter.
Hardware: Barrington in honey bronze (island) and Brookline in oil-rubbed bronze (perimeter), Top Knobs
10 Gorgeous Kitchens in Green and Wood
Hardware: Barrington in honey bronze (island) and Brookline in oil-rubbed bronze (perimeter), Top Knobs
10 Gorgeous Kitchens in Green and Wood
Reesey and the homeowners repurposed the family’s round wood dining table with Mission-style chairs. “Sometimes you can renovate a space and include something you had before and it looks totally different,” Reesey says. Everything to the right of the straight-on ceiling beam is part of the bump-out addition. Sliding doors on the right lead out to a new deck.
On the back wall, a tall pantry cabinet includes rollouts for dry goods and small appliances. A wet bar next to the pantry has an upper cabinet with clear glass fronts for finer glassware. The bar area is only 18 inches deep, to allow for plenty of clearance around the dining table. An added window sits above a bookcase with open shelves for cookbooks. “That whole wet bar area evolved after construction started,” Reesey says. “It was a combination of the ceiling locations and the homeowners wanting to keep that one white door. Because the door separated the left side to the right, we felt we needed an additional sink. We found a wonderful hammered copper sink that fit the space. We added another trash pullout there too.”
Chandelier: Orillia in oil-rubbed bronze, Rejuvenation
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On the back wall, a tall pantry cabinet includes rollouts for dry goods and small appliances. A wet bar next to the pantry has an upper cabinet with clear glass fronts for finer glassware. The bar area is only 18 inches deep, to allow for plenty of clearance around the dining table. An added window sits above a bookcase with open shelves for cookbooks. “That whole wet bar area evolved after construction started,” Reesey says. “It was a combination of the ceiling locations and the homeowners wanting to keep that one white door. Because the door separated the left side to the right, we felt we needed an additional sink. We found a wonderful hammered copper sink that fit the space. We added another trash pullout there too.”
Chandelier: Orillia in oil-rubbed bronze, Rejuvenation
12 Creative Coffee and Beverage Stations
Before: This floor plan of the former spaces shows the kitchen (top center) closed off from the dining room (bottom center). A peninsula divided the kitchen from the living room (top right). The swing-out door in the kitchen is the white panel door that leads to the walkway and garage.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
After: The new open-concept layout flips the locations of the kitchen (bottom center) and dining area (upper middle) and features improved connection with the living room. The new island (center) creates a place for gathering. “It allows them to be in one space and enjoy cooking together and eating together without feeling so cramped,” Reesey says.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four and its Saint Pyrenees dog
Location: Bolton, Massachusetts
Size: 313 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Kerri Reesey of Kindred Designs
Before: The former kitchen in the 1992 New England Cape-style home had a cramped layout in 125 square feet. And what it lacked in size it didn’t make up for in style. There were honey oak cabinets, laminate counters and dizzying peel-and-stick vinyl tile flooring. A small peninsula wasn’t a good spot for gathering, and it blocked connection to the living room. A lack of cabinet storage resulted in cluttered countertops that ate up prep space. A dining area sat on the other side of the refrigerator wall. “It was just very cramped,” Reesey says. “Both rooms were so tight, especially the kitchen.”
The white door in the back of this photo opens to an outdoor walkway that connects to the garage.