Kitchen Makeovers
Kitchen of the Week
Before and Afters
Kitchen of the Week: Midcentury Style and Modern Conveniences
A designer brings classic good looks to a 1954 kitchen while opening up the room and adding storage and counter space
The owners of this Minnesota home — professional musicians and California transplants — were drawn to its midcentury modern architecture. According to local lore, the house was designed by a protege of Frank Lloyd Wright’s in 1954. It’s a fabulous home filled with iconic midcentury details.
The kitchen, however, was not so fabulous. It was closed off from the rest of the house, making it feel dark. The appliances were old, and at some point someone had added red carpeting and a harvest gold range and countertops. While keeping the kitchen’s footprint intact, interior designer Colleen Slack was able to open up the room, provide adequate storage and countertop space, and create a look that jibes with the home’s classic midcentury style.
The kitchen, however, was not so fabulous. It was closed off from the rest of the house, making it feel dark. The appliances were old, and at some point someone had added red carpeting and a harvest gold range and countertops. While keeping the kitchen’s footprint intact, interior designer Colleen Slack was able to open up the room, provide adequate storage and countertop space, and create a look that jibes with the home’s classic midcentury style.
Before: The existing kitchen was a compact galley and measured 133 square feet. It had wall ovens and a stovetop.
The original windows were an architectural element worth preserving. “They were made by Andersen, a Minnesota company,” Slack says. “They have these funky grooved tracks and they slide open.”
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The original windows were an architectural element worth preserving. “They were made by Andersen, a Minnesota company,” Slack says. “They have these funky grooved tracks and they slide open.”
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After: The contractor was able to preserve the windows. “We added fresh trim to update them,” Slack says. Saving the original windows also helped preserve the original architecture on the exterior of the home.
Using a range freed up the space where the wall ovens were for crucial cabinets and countertop space. “Most of my clients are opting for induction ranges like this one over gas ranges these days,” Slack says. “They are much more energy-efficient, they reach a boiling point faster and they can go right from a boil to a simmer. They are also cool to the touch when you turn them off and are very easy to wipe down. There’s no removing the grids to clean them, or holes that crumbs can fall down into.”
The kitchen faucets are champagne bronze, a brass tone that suits the home’s age. The smaller faucet provides filtered drinking water.
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Using a range freed up the space where the wall ovens were for crucial cabinets and countertop space. “Most of my clients are opting for induction ranges like this one over gas ranges these days,” Slack says. “They are much more energy-efficient, they reach a boiling point faster and they can go right from a boil to a simmer. They are also cool to the touch when you turn them off and are very easy to wipe down. There’s no removing the grids to clean them, or holes that crumbs can fall down into.”
The kitchen faucets are champagne bronze, a brass tone that suits the home’s age. The smaller faucet provides filtered drinking water.
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“Before” floor plan: The differences between the before-and-after photos are so dramatic that they’re somewhat difficult to comprehend. It will be helpful to look at the changes Slack made to the floor plan before delving any further.
The kitchen runs along the bottom of this “before” plan. Above the kitchen is a nook that opens to the dining room. The wall on the right side of the nook marks the end of the front entry.
The wall along the bottom of the floor plan is the exterior wall of the kitchen with the original sliding windows. The wall above it on this plan separated the kitchen from the nook. The fridge and some adjacent cabinets were on this wall, with a small opening to the entry space. The homeowners were using the right side of the kitchen as a home office space. There was an old built-in toaster oven in that area, marked by a white rectangle in the wall.
The kitchen runs along the bottom of this “before” plan. Above the kitchen is a nook that opens to the dining room. The wall on the right side of the nook marks the end of the front entry.
The wall along the bottom of the floor plan is the exterior wall of the kitchen with the original sliding windows. The wall above it on this plan separated the kitchen from the nook. The fridge and some adjacent cabinets were on this wall, with a small opening to the entry space. The homeowners were using the right side of the kitchen as a home office space. There was an old built-in toaster oven in that area, marked by a white rectangle in the wall.
“After” floor plan: Slack removed the wall between the nook and the kitchen and placed a peninsula there. “We didn’t use the original nook space for anything besides the counter’s overhang and stools. My clients and I agreed to keep it open,” she says. This opened up the views to the dining and living rooms and out the large windows beyond.
The designer also shortened the wall that originally formed the right side of the nook. “That wall had the heat register in it, but we shortened it as much as we could to open that area up,” she says. The dining room and living room are open to each other.
Slack placed the new fridge at the right end of the kitchen where the home office space had been. Next to it, she wrapped the corner with cabinets and countertops. This new U-shaped layout maximized storage and counter space in the kitchen.
The designer also shortened the wall that originally formed the right side of the nook. “That wall had the heat register in it, but we shortened it as much as we could to open that area up,” she says. The dining room and living room are open to each other.
Slack placed the new fridge at the right end of the kitchen where the home office space had been. Next to it, she wrapped the corner with cabinets and countertops. This new U-shaped layout maximized storage and counter space in the kitchen.
Before: The existing panel-front refrigerator was no longer working properly. With that fridge out of commission, the homeowners had placed a functioning refrigerator in the nook, located behind this wall.
Besides one small opening to the nook and entry space (located between the cabinets and the trash can), this wall closed off the kitchen from the rest of the house. The nook space behind it didn’t serve much of a purpose (except to hold the functioning fridge) and was awkward. “There was a lot of wasted space in this kitchen,” Slack says. One example was the home office area (right), which didn’t serve the kitchen at all.
Also worth noting is the old toaster oven that was built into the wall, seen above the trash can in this photo. “My clients thought it was kind of cool, but they were afraid to use it,” Slack says.
Besides one small opening to the nook and entry space (located between the cabinets and the trash can), this wall closed off the kitchen from the rest of the house. The nook space behind it didn’t serve much of a purpose (except to hold the functioning fridge) and was awkward. “There was a lot of wasted space in this kitchen,” Slack says. One example was the home office area (right), which didn’t serve the kitchen at all.
Also worth noting is the old toaster oven that was built into the wall, seen above the trash can in this photo. “My clients thought it was kind of cool, but they were afraid to use it,” Slack says.
After: The left side of this photo shows where Slack removed the wall between the nook and the kitchen. This opened up the kitchen to the dining and living rooms. The kitchen’s footprint remained the same. Only the overhang of the new peninsula on the left protrudes into the former nook space, leaving breathing room between the kitchen and dining room.
Slack gave the galley kitchen a U shape. She placed a new panel-front SubZero fridge next to an original dividing wall. This is the wall that housed the built-in toaster oven. The cabinets to the right of the fridge are dedicated pantry storage.
Slack gave the galley kitchen a U shape. She placed a new panel-front SubZero fridge next to an original dividing wall. This is the wall that housed the built-in toaster oven. The cabinets to the right of the fridge are dedicated pantry storage.
Slack outfitted the peninsula to house all her clients’ china. These drawers are located across from the dishwasher for easy loading and unloading.
Before: The nook was an odd, small space between the kitchen and dining room. The opening to the kitchen is on the left. At some point, former homeowners had enclosed an original porch behind the nook to create the dining room, which is probably why the nook became awkward. It was probably a small dining space originally. While unsure of its original purpose, these homeowners had been using it as a spot for a piano and that second refrigerator.
Slack and the contractor collaborated closely on the project, dealing with the unique challenges that came up along the way. “We worked together from the design process through construction and had a great connection right away,” Slack says. “It was really wonderful to be able to talk through the challenges and find solutions together.” In the nook, they were careful to preserve every piece of original paneling to reuse in the kitchen remodel.
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Slack and the contractor collaborated closely on the project, dealing with the unique challenges that came up along the way. “We worked together from the design process through construction and had a great connection right away,” Slack says. “It was really wonderful to be able to talk through the challenges and find solutions together.” In the nook, they were careful to preserve every piece of original paneling to reuse in the kitchen remodel.
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After: Now the kitchen is open to the former nook space. This is the view from the dining room into the kitchen. The counter stools sit where the piano had been.
One of the challenges Slack and the contractor faced was that they couldn’t install any lighting such as recessed lights in the ceiling. There was no space behind the home’s original paneled ceilings to do so. “We solved this by running wires in the side wall up to a track on the ceiling,” Slack says. These globe pendant lights hang from that lighting track. There are also spotlight track lights that provide a functional alternative to recessed ceiling lights. They’re on a two-switch track so that the globes and track lights can be turned on separately.
Slack and the contractor used the paneling they preserved from the nook on this side of the peninsula and on the wall on the right. This lends a seamless look and ties the kitchen to the original architecture of the home.
One of the challenges Slack and the contractor faced was that they couldn’t install any lighting such as recessed lights in the ceiling. There was no space behind the home’s original paneled ceilings to do so. “We solved this by running wires in the side wall up to a track on the ceiling,” Slack says. These globe pendant lights hang from that lighting track. There are also spotlight track lights that provide a functional alternative to recessed ceiling lights. They’re on a two-switch track so that the globes and track lights can be turned on separately.
Slack and the contractor used the paneling they preserved from the nook on this side of the peninsula and on the wall on the right. This lends a seamless look and ties the kitchen to the original architecture of the home.
The designer vastly improved the view from the kitchen, which now extends across the dining room to the yard and wooded surroundings. It also includes a view of the fireplace, which is in the living room. Removing the wall also made the house much more conducive to gathering and entertaining.
Here’s another look at the reclaimed original paneling on the kitchen wall. “To honor the midcentury architecture, I kept the details clean and unfussy,” Slack says. The cabinetry is slab-front with full overlay and simple edge-pull hardware in satin brass. The countertops have clean, squared-off edges.
Cabinet hardware: Emtek
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Cabinet hardware: Emtek
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Before: “With all the wasted space in the kitchen, my clients did not have enough storage space,” Slack says. “They had to keep so many things out on their counters that they didn’t have any room for food prep.”
After: “One of our main goals was to provide enough storage so that they would have lots of uncluttered countertop space,” Slack says. To address this, she extended the cabinetry from wall to wall here. In addition, she packed the peninsula with storage and wrapped the wall next to the fridge with cabinets designated as pantry storage.
The flooring is Marmoleum, a natural and nontoxic linoleum product. “It is easy to clean and sweep and it’s appropriate to the era,” Slack says. She also notes that the earthy tones work well with the kitchen and the original flagstone flooring in an adjacent space.
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The flooring is Marmoleum, a natural and nontoxic linoleum product. “It is easy to clean and sweep and it’s appropriate to the era,” Slack says. She also notes that the earthy tones work well with the kitchen and the original flagstone flooring in an adjacent space.
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Read more kitchen stories
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Find local remodeling pros
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: North Oaks, Minnesota
Size: 133 square feet (12 square meters)
Designer: Colleen Slack of Fox Interiors
Contractor: Purcell Quality
Slack always has her clients begin the design process by creating a Houzz ideabook where they can gather inspiration photos. “We also add example images from our side so that they can add notes about what they like and don’t like,” she says. She also has ideabooks set up for each type of room, so that if her clients have trouble getting started, they can pick and choose from those photos and note what they like and don’t like about those spaces. “Ideabooks are always part of our process to understand what our clients like,” Slack says.
Her clients had checked out Slack’s projects on Houzz and fell in love with the materials in another kitchen she’d designed with Japandi (Japanese-Scandinavian) style. “They loved the rift-cut white oak cabinets, the rosemary green tiles and the white quartz countertops in that kitchen,” she says. “Because they came here from California, our clients appreciated the Fireclay tile that we used here. It was handmade in California.”
Slack agreed that white oak was the right choice to work with the original paneling on the walls and ceiling, and she used a clear stain. “There are a lot of reddish and orange tones in that original wood, and the white oak cabinets tone that down and lighten things up,” she says.
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