This remodel was more than just a kitchen. The entire west side of the house for this Lakewood family was reconstructed for a kitchen, breakfast room, walk-in pantry, mudroom, dry bar, desk, and sitting area. The homeowners previously added to the house to add square footage to the kitchen. Anticipated to be used as a pantry, we found even more potential for the new space. The previous kitchen, desk, and bar area also failed to hit things on this large family’s “need” list. But, it was nothing a full redesign couldn’t fix!

Before Pictures

Material Selection

Material selection is one the most important part of the project. Sure, you always want a room that is functional, easy to use, and stores everything it needs to. However, your eyes can always tell another story – and you want it to be a good one! Making any room cohesive with your style and the rest of the home is a must. The Lakewood family home has very traditional styling, so we wanted to pay homage to that.

Cabinetry and Hardware

We started with a custom-manufactured cabinet line to meet all the internal storage requirements and custom details. However, picking the right material and colors was just as imperative. The majority of the cabinets are a Pewter gray painted color with a Cinder (gray) dry glaze on top. The dry glaze makes a brushed look on top of paint and gives the cabinets extra character. The bar and bookcase cabinets are a deep brown (Nocture Dusk) stain. Flemish glass inserts are used at the bar wall cabinets. The door styles mimic one another with a flat center panel and slightly beveled inside edge detail. For a more traditional styling of hardware, we did a knob and pull combination using Top Knobs: Ascendra Knobs on doors, Podium Pulls on drawers, and their Transcend Cabinet Latches on the inset bookshelf cabinet doors, all in satin nickel.

Counters and Tile

Just as we chose two different cabinet materials, we ended up using two countertop colors. The material itself, however, was the same: Caesarstone quartz. The main kitchen and bar counters were Statuario Maximus, with the island getting a 6cm mitered drop edge. The desk and pantry received a less costly, but just as resilient, color: Frosty Carrina. The design called for very little backsplash area, and we used 4-inch tall matching quartz splash at the desk and pantry. In the kitchen, however, we went with a fun tile. Using Renaissance Tile Paddle Nest collection, we mixed 80% Haze (light gray) and 20% Shadow (dark gray) to create a customized random pattern at the main kitchen cooking wall.

Designing for this Lakewood Family

Previously, the kitchen was divvied up onto two walls with the main sink and range sitting about 8-feet apart. There was a major lack of continuous prep space, and access to additional storage was almost non-existent. Their bar and desk space were squeezed together, and the desk was actually used as a secondary home office space (pre-quarantine!) which needed to gain some semblance of privacy.

Separate Spaces, One Cohesive Area

Using some trusty beams and the stamped approval of a structural engineer, we were able to move about a 20-foot span of wall back 3-feet to gain square footage inside of the actual kitchen. This allowed for an easy-access walk-in pantry, a separate mudroom, and an oversized kitchen island. The mudroom itself plays a critical role by organizing the kids’ sports and school essentials. Moving the wall also allowed for better access to the sitting room. And against everything you think we would do, we actually *added* a wall! This wall acts to create three different things: a niche for the refrigerator and freezer, a back wall for a standalone dry bar, and privacy for a full-sized office desk. You know how the phrase goes: three birds, one stone… or something like that?

Plumbing and Appliances

And now for the final finishing materials! A majority of the appliances are from Dacor, with a dishwasher drawer from Fisher & Paykel, and a wine cooler from Marvel. In that “cold storage” niche sits a whopping 24-inch freezer column and 30-inch refrigerator column. That’s 54-inches of cold storage for this Lakewood family! We also have a 36-inch gas range and a stacked 30-inch wall oven, 24-inch microwave oven, and 30-inch warming drawer (cabinet paneled) to it’s left. A 15-inch wine cooler sits at the dry bar. In the island is a full-sized 24-inch dishwasher along with a secondary dishwasher drawer for overflow, or for quick washes in between large meals. The island is also home to the pièce de résistance: a 5-foot Double Bowl Ideal Workstation from Galley with their Natural Golden Bamboo 9-piece Culinary Kit (watch the video below!). Faucets and pot filler are from California Faucets Davoli collection.

Need even more inspiration for your home? Check out our most recent Friday Features: Five Bold Bathrooms and A Very Colorful Kitchen.