Kitchen of the Week: Making the Most of 117 Square Feet
A designer improves flow, maximizes storage and creates a quiet, streamlined look in a midcentury kitchen
With four kids, two dogs and a cat, these Canadian homeowners were more than ready to improve the flow in their compact midcentury modern home in West Vancouver, British Columbia. Designer Lori Steeves helped them improve flow, increase storage capacity and achieve a streamlined and calm look within the galley kitchen. While freshening up and modernizing the home, she was also careful to maintain the midcentury spirit of the 1952 architecture.
Before Photo
After: Steeves encased the basement staircase in full walls. Doing so established a small entry space and blocked the view into the powder room. This vintage midcentury teak cabinet was exactly what her clients were looking for, and it set the tone for the entire remodel. Its color sparked the material palette for the remodel of the living, dining and kitchen areas within the open plan.
“I wanted to create contrast to the dark color of the teak on this piece, as well as some other midcentury walnut pieces that they had, with pale wood,” Steeves says. The base of the material palette is two tones of wood: dark teak and walnut contrasted by much lighter white oak. The new floors, kitchen cabinets, dining room built-ins and the new slatted divider at the entry are white oak.
“I wanted to create contrast to the dark color of the teak on this piece, as well as some other midcentury walnut pieces that they had, with pale wood,” Steeves says. The base of the material palette is two tones of wood: dark teak and walnut contrasted by much lighter white oak. The new floors, kitchen cabinets, dining room built-ins and the new slatted divider at the entry are white oak.
Before Photo
Before: The kitchen is on the back of the house, to the right of the teak cabinet in the previous photo. (See floor plans below.) It measures approximately 117 square feet. “This house is full of people and serves as a hub for the kids’ friends,” Steeves says. “There’s lots of activity in this small space. We needed to make it flow better, add storage and make it functional.”
The existing island hadn’t been well thought out. “It was a bad island,” Steeves says. “It had an air vent in it, and it didn’t have an overhang.” It also housed the kitchen sink, whose very large faucet looked unwieldy in the small space.
The existing island hadn’t been well thought out. “It was a bad island,” Steeves says. “It had an air vent in it, and it didn’t have an overhang.” It also housed the kitchen sink, whose very large faucet looked unwieldy in the small space.
After: The kitchen layout is a wide galley. Steeves eliminated the island and replaced it with a peninsula that has seating. She moved the sink under a new, relocated window and scooted the fridge and range to the right to make room for a pantry cabinet. The pantry is outfitted with shelves attached to the cabinet door, which pulls out for easy access to everything inside.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Before Photo
Before: The existing kitchen window didn’t allow for upper cabinets to run all the way along the wall on the left.
After: By moving the window 12 inches to the right, Steeves was able to extend upper cabinets along both adjacent walls. This expanded the amount of storage space in the kitchen. She also maximized space with a lazy Susan in one corner, pullouts in the other and deep drawers in the lower cabinets for pots, pans, small appliances, canisters and more.
“The unbroken lines of the cabinetry give everything a streamlined look,” Steeves says. “Extending the backsplash tile all the way up the walls was also a way to avoid chopping up the wall. These things maintain a clean and quiet look that makes the room feel bigger.”
The cabinet hardware is streamlined and minimalist. The upper cabinet doors hang about 1 inch below the cabinet boxes, and the family simply uses its fingers beneath the doors to open them with ease. The lighting choices also have an uncluttered look. There are grooves in the bottoms of the upper cabinets to accommodate LED strip lights, and there are can lights in the ceiling. “We didn’t want to highlight the fact that the ceilings are only 8 feet high with pendants,” Steeves says.
“The unbroken lines of the cabinetry give everything a streamlined look,” Steeves says. “Extending the backsplash tile all the way up the walls was also a way to avoid chopping up the wall. These things maintain a clean and quiet look that makes the room feel bigger.”
The cabinet hardware is streamlined and minimalist. The upper cabinet doors hang about 1 inch below the cabinet boxes, and the family simply uses its fingers beneath the doors to open them with ease. The lighting choices also have an uncluttered look. There are grooves in the bottoms of the upper cabinets to accommodate LED strip lights, and there are can lights in the ceiling. “We didn’t want to highlight the fact that the ceilings are only 8 feet high with pendants,” Steeves says.
The backsplash tile is a trapezoidal shape that’s a fun alternative to subway or square tiles. “We had some direct midcentury modern references within the design,” Steeves says. “But we also wanted to modernize some of the other references.” These tiles aren’t of the era, but they channel midcentury style in that they’re geometric and playful.
To value-engineer the project, the designer presented her clients with the option of using cabinet veneers instead of solid wood cabinets. The cabinets have the look of rift-cut white oak. Rift-cut refers to a method of sawing the wood that minimizes the graining pattern. It has a quieter look than the busier patterns of plain sawn white oak.
The appliances are by Fisher & Paykel. The stove has an induction cooktop. The vent hood is custom and maintains the simple, minimalist look. It’s crafted of painted MDF.
To value-engineer the project, the designer presented her clients with the option of using cabinet veneers instead of solid wood cabinets. The cabinets have the look of rift-cut white oak. Rift-cut refers to a method of sawing the wood that minimizes the graining pattern. It has a quieter look than the busier patterns of plain sawn white oak.
The appliances are by Fisher & Paykel. The stove has an induction cooktop. The vent hood is custom and maintains the simple, minimalist look. It’s crafted of painted MDF.
The countertops are another quiet element in the room. They are Organic White Caesarstone, a durable engineered quartz product.
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Find a local countertop professional
The dining area is located off the opposite side of the peninsula. It measures 94½ square feet, so every inch counts. “I designed a banquette because dining chairs require 3 feet of clearance around them,” Steeves says. Using a banquette left enough room between the peninsula stools and dining table for a good flow from the living room through the dining area into the kitchen and to the backyard. Steeves had an outlet installed into the banquette for plugging in laptops and other devices. An oval tulip table brings gentle curves into the room and also helps save space.
The modern-looking artwork behind the banquette is the homeowners’ kids’ art. “They had written a lot of letters and words on a big canvas. My clients loved the graphic quality of it and it was perfect for this spot,” Steeves says. She made sure to choose a light fixture that would keep the view of the artwork open. This one, a simple brass bar with globe lights, references midcentury modern design in an updated way.
The modern-looking artwork behind the banquette is the homeowners’ kids’ art. “They had written a lot of letters and words on a big canvas. My clients loved the graphic quality of it and it was perfect for this spot,” Steeves says. She made sure to choose a light fixture that would keep the view of the artwork open. This one, a simple brass bar with globe lights, references midcentury modern design in an updated way.
“My clients had a lot of objects like pottery, books and small paintings they wanted to display. So we left the backs of the built-ins open,” Steeves says. “We used closed cabinets on the bottom for extra storage.”
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
These cabinets have special hardware that nods to midcentury style. Steeves used the same hardware in a bathroom, adding to the cohesive feel throughout the house.
Before Photo
Before: The living room is open to the dining room. The bulkhead on the left divides the two. This space was also part of the remodeling project. The clients had replaced the gas fireplace insert shortly before the renovations began, so saving the new one was a goal.
After: The dining area’s built-ins create a nice transition into the living room. The coffee table and heirloom Eames lounge chairs are some of the walnut pieces that inspired the dark-and-light wood material palette. Steeves replaced the original 1950s divided windows with new ones that keep the views of the city of Vancouver clear. Because the windows on the right face south, she used argon windows and roller shades to mitigate the sun’s heat during the summer.
The wife was on board with her husband’s need for streamlined and quiet design, but she also loves color. “We were able to work that in with the ottomans and the pillows, and she got her wild drunk monkey wallpaper in the powder room,” Steeves says.
This photo also features one of the couple’s three pets, Artie. “I could not believe our luck when we arrived for the photo shoot and Artie was wearing a gold-and-burnt-orange sweater that matched the house perfectly,” Steeves says with a laugh.
The wife was on board with her husband’s need for streamlined and quiet design, but she also loves color. “We were able to work that in with the ottomans and the pillows, and she got her wild drunk monkey wallpaper in the powder room,” Steeves says.
This photo also features one of the couple’s three pets, Artie. “I could not believe our luck when we arrived for the photo shoot and Artie was wearing a gold-and-burnt-orange sweater that matched the house perfectly,” Steeves says with a laugh.
Steeves had the existing fireplace insert painted black, blending it into the surround by installing black tile around it. “The fluted terrazzo tile from Ann Sacks was the one big splurge the husband really wanted,” Steeves says. It was an excellent way to honor to the home’s original midcentury architecture.
First floor after: This plan shows the living room on the bottom right corner with the entry door to the left of it. Directly above that door is the new wall around the basement stairs, and the teak cabinet is to the right. The kitchen and dining area are above the living room. This plan shows the easy flow between entry, living room, kitchen and dining area.
Before: Here’s a closer look at the previous kitchen and dining areas. The kitchen is in the center, with the dining area to the right. The kitchen window was only 1 foot from the wall to its left. The island position made flow through the open plan awkward.
After: Steeves moved the kitchen window 12 inches to the right, allowing for upper cabinets on both adjacent walls. By replacing the island with a peninsula, she improved flow between the kitchen, dining and living areas.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, their four kids, two dogs and cat
Location: West Vancouver, British Columbia
Size: 117 square feet (11 square meters)
Designer: Lori Steeves of Simply Home Decorating
Before: The remodel included all the public areas of the house, the powder room and a full bathroom. The jumping-off point for the design began in the entry and living room area. Behind the large cabinet seen here, a half wall surrounded a staircase to the basement on two sides. Though this kept things more open, it was too open.
“When you walked in the front door, you were looking directly into the powder room. We wanted to change that and make the entry more formal,” Steeves says. “Also, one of the things my clients really wanted was a true midcentury cabinet to place here.”
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