Kitchen of the Week: Open, Airy and Cheerful in a Condo
A designer takes down walls to give her client a spacious and bright eat-in kitchen
Sometimes you have to sacrifice a room to accomplish your remodeling goals. That was the case for this Moorestown, New Jersey, condo owner, who gave up her dining room to transform her compact and windowless kitchen into a spacious and cheerful space. Interior designer Nicole Lorber managed to incorporate everything on the homeowner’s wish list: a large island with a butcher block top, a big dollop of green, a dynamic backsplash, wood accents and a concealed washer and dryer.
After: Lorber removed the wall between the dining room and the kitchen and expanded the kitchen’s footprint to take over the former dining space. It now reaches to the sliding doors on the left. Removing a second wall opened up the view of the kitchen from the family room, as seen here. (See the “before” and “after” floor plans at the end to get oriented.)
Removing the walls created room for a 4-by-10-foot kitchen island, and the homeowner is happy to use it as the condo’s only dining space. In addition to seating on three sides, the island contains a trash-and-recycling pullout, deep drawers for pots and pans and, beneath the long row of counter stools seen here, 12-inch-deep cabinets.
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Removing the walls created room for a 4-by-10-foot kitchen island, and the homeowner is happy to use it as the condo’s only dining space. In addition to seating on three sides, the island contains a trash-and-recycling pullout, deep drawers for pots and pans and, beneath the long row of counter stools seen here, 12-inch-deep cabinets.
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The homeowner’s desire to have green in the kitchen determined the color palette. While Lorber’s first instinct was to go with sage, her client wanted a more energetic hue. “I love that she wanted a happier, more cheerful green,” the designer says. They went with Sherwin-Williams’ Rookwood Green.
Lorber presented her client with several design concepts showing the green on different portions of the cabinetry. The homeowner opted for a green island base and white perimeter cabinets.
Lorber presented her client with several design concepts showing the green on different portions of the cabinetry. The homeowner opted for a green island base and white perimeter cabinets.
To stay within budget, they balanced splurges with budget-friendly options.
The backsplash tile was appropriate to splurge on. “This is an itty-bitty mosaic tile that picks up on the green on the island with its more subtle gray-green tones,” Lorber says. The pattern is dynamic and meets the homeowner’s desire for something fun.
The coordinating countertops are light quartz with subtle veining. “This quartz almost resembles concrete. We purposely used something understated to put the focus on the backsplash,” the designer says.
Using ready-made cabinets allowed for big savings over going with custom units.
With a green island and wood accents, gold hardware was the best choice. To keep her modern-leaning client happy, Lorber searched for an option that was not strictly traditional. “I lucked out and found 6-inch Lucite pulls with gold caps, and solid metal longer pulls in the same style,” she says.
Countertops: Eternal Serena quartz, Silestone
The backsplash tile was appropriate to splurge on. “This is an itty-bitty mosaic tile that picks up on the green on the island with its more subtle gray-green tones,” Lorber says. The pattern is dynamic and meets the homeowner’s desire for something fun.
The coordinating countertops are light quartz with subtle veining. “This quartz almost resembles concrete. We purposely used something understated to put the focus on the backsplash,” the designer says.
Using ready-made cabinets allowed for big savings over going with custom units.
With a green island and wood accents, gold hardware was the best choice. To keep her modern-leaning client happy, Lorber searched for an option that was not strictly traditional. “I lucked out and found 6-inch Lucite pulls with gold caps, and solid metal longer pulls in the same style,” she says.
Countertops: Eternal Serena quartz, Silestone
Before: Even with a pass-through, the kitchen felt closed off from the other public spaces. There wasn’t a comfortable way for the homeowner to hang out with her daughters in the kitchen when she was making meals. Also, the corner sink felt like it was jammed into an already crowded room, given the cabinets overhead.
After: The range hood marks the separation point between the two previous rooms. Lorber moved the kitchen sink out of the corner and to the right, placing floating shelves over it for a more open feel. The end of the island on the left is for dining, and the other end serves the work triangle of the range, sink and fridge.
Two more items on the homeowner’s wish list were a wood range hood and floating shelves. ‘With open shelving, I always talk to my clients about what they want to place up there. Then I place tape where we think the shelves should go and test what they can reach,” Lorber says. “Rather than lining up the lower shelves with the bottoms of the cabinets, I placed them a few inches up. This draws the eye upward to make the ceiling seem higher.”
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Two more items on the homeowner’s wish list were a wood range hood and floating shelves. ‘With open shelving, I always talk to my clients about what they want to place up there. Then I place tape where we think the shelves should go and test what they can reach,” Lorber says. “Rather than lining up the lower shelves with the bottoms of the cabinets, I placed them a few inches up. This draws the eye upward to make the ceiling seem higher.”
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The kitchen is now in full view from the family room, and a new wood range hood provides a focal point.
“We had some different asymmetrical things going on in here, such as the island not being centered on the range hood,” Lorber says. “This actually worked to our advantage, because a light fixture centered over the island wouldn’t block the view of the range hood from the family room.”
The homeowner had put in new laminate flooring everywhere except the kitchen a few years prior to this renovation, and Lorber was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to find the same product to cover the added square footage. “It was crucial to the budget that we keep that existing flooring,” the designer says. “Luckily, my client had 2½ boxes of it left over in storage, which was just enough to cover the area we needed to.”
Range hood: Hoodsly
“We had some different asymmetrical things going on in here, such as the island not being centered on the range hood,” Lorber says. “This actually worked to our advantage, because a light fixture centered over the island wouldn’t block the view of the range hood from the family room.”
The homeowner had put in new laminate flooring everywhere except the kitchen a few years prior to this renovation, and Lorber was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to find the same product to cover the added square footage. “It was crucial to the budget that we keep that existing flooring,” the designer says. “Luckily, my client had 2½ boxes of it left over in storage, which was just enough to cover the area we needed to.”
Range hood: Hoodsly
Before: One of the biggest challenges in the small kitchen was moving the washer and dryer to a spot where they would be out of the way. With the larger kitchen footprint, there was room for a laundry closet, but due to the condo’s concrete floors, walls and ceiling, relocating the plumbing was tricky. This limited the options for where the units could be placed.
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
Not sure where to start on your home project? Learn the basics
After: After brainstorming together, Lorber and contractor Gary Marcy of Lakes Custom Builders came up with a solution. They pushed the base cabinets out 2 inches from the wall and placed the plumbing behind them. Extending the countertop over the gap between the wall and the cabinets ensured that no one would be the wiser.
The next challenge involved aesthetics. Local codes required nonsolid doors for a laundry closet, but this homeowner wanted something more interesting than louvered doors. Lorber suggested caned doors as an alternative, after checking to make sure they would be permitted. The natural material brings in a warm texture that plays off the room’s wood elements.
The next challenge involved aesthetics. Local codes required nonsolid doors for a laundry closet, but this homeowner wanted something more interesting than louvered doors. Lorber suggested caned doors as an alternative, after checking to make sure they would be permitted. The natural material brings in a warm texture that plays off the room’s wood elements.
One of Lorber’s employees knew how to handle caning. It needed to be soaked, stretched and stapled into place to make it taut. “She did it herself on-site, and this caning is tight as a drum,” the designer says. To cover the staples and create a finished look, the team added trim around the caning on the back of the doors.
Before: This is the floor plan for the condo before the remodel. The walls on the left and bottom of the kitchen were removed during the renovation.
After: This shows the new kitchen layout. The renovated kitchen took over the dining room space and is open to the family room.
Giving up her separate dining space allowed this homeowner to have the bright, cheerful and energizing kitchen she’d always wanted in her home. Now she has an inviting place where she can visit with her daughters and her friends.
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Giving up her separate dining space allowed this homeowner to have the bright, cheerful and energizing kitchen she’d always wanted in her home. Now she has an inviting place where she can visit with her daughters and her friends.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos for ideas
Find home design and construction professionals
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman with two adult daughters who visit often
Location: Moorestown, New Jersey
Size: 209 square feet (19 square meters); 19 by 11 feet
Designer: Nicole Lorber of Distinctive Interior Designs
Contractor: Lakes Custom Builders
Before: The condo had a small kitchen closed off from the adjacent dining room and family room. The ceilings were just 7 feet, 8 inches high, and there were limited options for moving plumbing and wiring, because the building has concrete floors, walls and ceilings.
To start the design process, Lorber created a Houzz ideabook so she and the homeowner could share inspiration photos. This also helped the designer get an idea of her client’s style, which she describes as modern and eclectic.
The homeowner’s wish list included a large kitchen island with a butcher block top, a cheerful green color on some of the cabinetry and a fun backsplash. “My client has adult twin daughters, and she wanted her home to feel welcoming when they came over to visit,” Lorber says.
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