Kitchen Makeovers
Before and Afters
Kitchen of the Week: Inefficient Pantries Make Way for a Bar
A designer reconfigures the footprint of this kitchen for entertaining and updates its style
At 400 square feet, this kitchen had plenty of room. But it didn’t function well for the busy family of four that used it. Designer Dana Bender tailored a new design to their lifestyle, which included hosting extended family and friends frequently. The project included replacing some existing inefficient pantries with a beautiful bar, removing a wing wall to open up the kitchen, making enough room for refrigeration needs and reserving special spots for artwork handpicked by one of the homeowners.
Before Photo
After: Bender updated the kitchen with a lighter palette and replaced the existing island. The new island has a prep sink and a Calacatta Macaubas quartzite countertop with a leathered finish. Quartzite is a natural stone that looks similar to marble but is harder and more durable. And the leathered finish is more forgiving, hiding water spots better than a polished finish would. “My clients found that having seating on one side of the island made the path behind it too narrow, so we kept it strictly a work island,” Bender says. The old island was repurposed — they moved it into the wife’s art studio.
“The wife is an artist and knew she wanted to place paintings on either side of the windows. We planned the sconces in anticipation of lighting the artwork,” Bender says. The trio of large pendant lights was existing. The homeowners loved them, and they worked really well with the new design. The antique brass finish inside the pendants plays off other brass finishes in the room nicely.
Wall color: Modern Gray, Sherwin-Williams; Goodman pendants, Visual Comfort
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“The wife is an artist and knew she wanted to place paintings on either side of the windows. We planned the sconces in anticipation of lighting the artwork,” Bender says. The trio of large pendant lights was existing. The homeowners loved them, and they worked really well with the new design. The antique brass finish inside the pendants plays off other brass finishes in the room nicely.
Wall color: Modern Gray, Sherwin-Williams; Goodman pendants, Visual Comfort
Shop for white pendant lights
The new island provides lots of workspace on the top and storage in the base. It also houses a new microwave drawer.
In the back corner, Bender created a coffee station with a built-in coffee maker and designated nearby cabinet space for mugs and other accoutrements. A countertop cabinet conceals small appliances such as the toaster. This corner provides a place to prep breakfast near the breakfast room and outside the main work triangle.
In the back corner, Bender created a coffee station with a built-in coffee maker and designated nearby cabinet space for mugs and other accoutrements. A countertop cabinet conceals small appliances such as the toaster. This corner provides a place to prep breakfast near the breakfast room and outside the main work triangle.
Just beyond the island, Bender removed that pesky wing wall — the column contains the support post that was inside the wall. A household command central workstation looks out across the breakfast room. “They also wanted some sort of screen in here to watch TV,” Bender says. Placing it here allowed it to serve the kitchen and the breakfast room.
A starring design feature is the marble mosaic backsplash with a dynamic pattern. The homeowner’s artistic skills came in handy during the renovation — she hand-painted the outlet covers to match the backsplash tile.
The cabinets are by Wood-Mode, customized with its Vintage Nordic finish. “The ‘vintage’ layer is added to the color like a glaze. It tones down the color and keeps them from having a solid-color look,” Bender says.
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The cabinets are by Wood-Mode, customized with its Vintage Nordic finish. “The ‘vintage’ layer is added to the color like a glaze. It tones down the color and keeps them from having a solid-color look,” Bender says.
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Before Photo
Before: A microwave darkened the space over the cooktop range. The wall ovens were located to the right, with the fridge right next to them.
After: Bender opted to keep the burners and ovens in one spot. “These homeowners are the entertainers of their family, so having two full-size ovens was important,” she says. She designed a custom range hood in mixed metals. The brass straps play off the satin brass cabinet hardware.
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Before Photo
Before: The look of the appliances chopped up the space. Bender’s clients wanted to increase the amount of fridge and freezer space in the kitchen.
The door to the left of the bench led to a butler’s pantry that was more of a glorified pass-through to the dining room. The door on the right side of the bench led to a walk-in pantry.
The door to the left of the bench led to a butler’s pantry that was more of a glorified pass-through to the dining room. The door on the right side of the bench led to a walk-in pantry.
After: On the left side of the photo, the new fridge and freezer have panel fronts that blend in with the cabinetry. To the right, Bender removed the wall and pantries to make way for a fabulous new bar that’s great for entertaining. It includes a tall wine cooler and pantry cabinets on the left.
“We all wanted the bar to be its own space within the room and have its own vibe,” Bender says. So she changed the colors on the cabinetry and used a different backsplash and different countertop material here. The swinging restaurant door with the porthole was an idea her clients had wanted to incorporate into the design. And even though the old pass-through to the dining room is gone, the door still provides a pass-through kind of feel.
Cabinet color: Navy, Wood-Mode
“We all wanted the bar to be its own space within the room and have its own vibe,” Bender says. So she changed the colors on the cabinetry and used a different backsplash and different countertop material here. The swinging restaurant door with the porthole was an idea her clients had wanted to incorporate into the design. And even though the old pass-through to the dining room is gone, the door still provides a pass-through kind of feel.
Cabinet color: Navy, Wood-Mode
To make up for the lost pantry space, Bender created a tall pantry cabinet on the left side of the wine cooler and another pantry cabinet to the left of the main refrigerator. She also made room for overflow storage within the rest of the cabinetry, including the cabinets that kiss the ceiling.
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
The bar has a special look. “This navy was a comforting color for them. They had blues in other areas of the house,” Bender says. She used the color as a jumping-off point for the rest of the design. The countertops are sapele, a hard, durable wood with a mahogany-like look. The backsplash is antiqued mirror and the cabinets have textured glass doors that lend a vintage feel.
In the corner of the bar, the designer concealed some existing ductwork with paint. The bar has a sink with a “gentleman’s faucet” — it stands out as special and looks like it came from a classic pub. She also incorporated an ice maker into the cabinetry on the left.
Sapele countertops: Grothouse Wood Countertops
In the corner of the bar, the designer concealed some existing ductwork with paint. The bar has a sink with a “gentleman’s faucet” — it stands out as special and looks like it came from a classic pub. She also incorporated an ice maker into the cabinetry on the left.
Sapele countertops: Grothouse Wood Countertops
Before Photo
Before: This photo shows the depth of the space Bender took over to create the bar. The butler’s pantry pass-through is through the door on the left and the walk-in pantry is behind the door on the right. “The wife had kind of taken over the butler’s pantry with art supplies, but now she has the old island for that in her studio,” Bender says. The freestanding blue bar is like a little seed of an idea for what this area would become.
After: Because the island didn’t have enough room for seating in the working part of the kitchen, Bender added high-top seating off the end of it. “I pulled the seating down and away from the working part of the kitchen, connecting it to the bar instead,” she says. “There’s room for the family of four plus some friends to hang out around it.” The navy blue base and sapele counter also create a visual connection to the bar.
Before: The most important thing to note on this plan is the walk-in pantry and butler’s pantry on the lower right, because they mark where Bender changed the kitchen’s footprint.
After: The new floor plan shows where Bender took over the pantries to create the bar. The plan also shows how well located the bar is — it’s convenient for serving not only the kitchen, but also the dining room, breakfast room and living room.
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Browse kitchen photos
Hire a local kitchen designer
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two teenage daughters
Location: Newton Square, Pennsylvania
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)
Design-build firm: Pine Street Carpenters & The Kitchen Studio
Before: The homeowners liked the size of the existing island. But they wanted it to function better for the way they like to prep and entertain. Also, they didn’t like the wing wall on the left, between the kitchen and breakfast room, and craved better connectivity between the two rooms.
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