Kitchen of the Week: White, Wood and a Dazzling Backsplash Design

“After” photos by Andrea Rugg Photography

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with three school-age kids
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 310 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Kate Roos Design

Before: The kitchen prior to the remodel had a tight U-shaped layout. The range wall on the right separated the kitchen from a mudroom and an underused space that Roos saw as an opportunity to expand the kitchen. Basic white cabinets showed wear. Most of the finishes and appliances needed an update. About the only thing the homeowners wanted to keep was the red oak flooring, which just needed some patching. The kitchen “was quite cramped,” Roos says. “It was falling apart and just didn’t work for the five of them to be in there together.”

After: Roos knocked down the range wall to expand the kitchen into the mudroom. The window to the left of the new walnut range hood is part of a window that hung over the sink in the former kitchen. The expansion added 45 square feet to the kitchen footprint and allowed Roos to add a compact walnut island with seating, storage and work surface. “I think for them, it gives them a bit of a buffer between them and the kids or guests,” she says. “It protects the workspace. From an aesthetic perspective, it also provides a nice focal point with the hood.”

Light gray perimeter cabinets (Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore) and 3-by-8-inch ceramic white backsplash tiles keep things bright and airy. A colorful backsplash design on the range wall combines various amber, gray and espresso tones for a spark of color. “I think they’re a fun, young couple looking for something a bit unique and not so monochromatic,” Roos says. “The walnut was an opportunity to warm up the space.”

Paint colors: Classic Gray (walls), Simply White (ceiling) and Gray Owl (perimeter cabinets), Benjamin Moore

Find kitchen remodelers near you

Here’s a closer look at the colorful backsplash with its handmade ceramic tiles. “The backsplash design with all that deep color and fish scale tiles also visually connects the island and hood,” Roos says.

A new 36-inch dual-fuel range with four burners, infrared griddle and convection oven sits below the oversize custom hood. Roos framed a shallow shelf made from the same quartz as the counters into the existing perimeter of the room. “The shelf takes advantage of that jog in the wall,” she says. “It allows them to store bottles of oil, vinegar and things like that.”

Sconce: Wellfeet, Visual Comfort; backsplash tile: Mercury Mosaics and Tile

Shop for your kitchen

A pair of large pendant lights in bronze, hand-rubbed antique brass and milk glass hang over the island. The kitchen also includes new LED recessed ceiling lights on dimmers.

Pendant lights: Hicks, Visual Comfort

10 Dos and Don’ts of Designing a Kitchen Island

This side of the kitchen features abundant storage surrounding the upgraded 36-inch French door refrigerator. To the left of the fridge is built-in open shelving for everyday dishes. To the right of the fridge is a small appliance garage. A hallway on the left leads to the home’s front entry. “That whole wall you see there on the left is now full of pantry storage,” Roos says. “We also added a tower of shelves for cookbooks.” The wood-bordered opening off the kitchen on the left connects to the dining room.

The new sink wall, formerly in the mudroom, includes an upgraded 36-inch white cast-iron farmhouse sink with basin rack and a stainless steel pull-down faucet with magnetic docking. The existing stainless steel dishwasher is to the right of the sink. Pullouts flanking the sink store dish towels and other items. A 24-inch drawer microwave is on the interior side of the island. “Putting it on the working side of the island made it very accessible,” Roos says.

Sink: Ironridge, Kohler; faucet: Rook, Brizo; windows: Marvin

See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software