We recently had the pleasure of working with a family who was looking to update a clean, but truly outdated kitchen with more of an open feel. Upon meeting the family, it became abundantly clear that the one thing we needed to accomplish (besides a gorgeous finished kitchen, of course) was to incorporate more natural light into the new design. RJE owner Ralph Jain, went straight to work designing this complete gut and remodel, which included opening the view from the kitchen to the customer’s existing beautiful pool and deck, opening the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and adding a new, larger glass sliding door from the dining to the existing sun room.
The finished project allowed for the most used room in the house (isn’t the kitchen always the most used room?) to also be the most loved and most beautiful. Take a look below to see some of the changes we made.
Layout
Overall, the layout remained largely unchanged. The most easily spotted changes were the addition of a kitchen island and the moving of the fridge. In addition to those changes, we worked to open the space and bring in more light by removing the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, which included raising the header to create a visually more open floor plan, essentially making them one large space. Additionally, we added a short wall next to the fridge, so we could more easily add a custom sliding barn door that would close off the entrance to the basement stairwell.
Cabinetry
The new cabinets brought a more updated look to the kitchen space. The homeowners chose a maple wood cabinet by Waypoint with a painted harbor finish, a light gray color.
Countertops
The homeowners chose a gray and white quartz countertop and complimented it with a white straight porcelain backsplash. A new farmhouse sink completes the look.
Flooring
Originally, the kitchen and dining room had two different floors, creating a distinction between the rooms. We installed Armstrong Solid Hickory American Scrape Hardwood flooring throughout the kitchen and into the dining room. The beautifully rustic hand-scraped flooring provides the added benefit of easily hiding everyday wear. The homeowners chose a deep chocolate color, which went perfectly in both rooms and helped further tie the rooms together.
Lighting
We added recessed lighting in both the kitchen and dining room as well as decorative pendant lights over the island in the kitchen. The homeowners chose a Westinghouse Industrial One-Light Adjustable mini pendant with Handblown Clear Seeded Glass in a Brushed Nickel Finish.
Windows and Doors
Garden Window
The homeowners love having plants in their kitchen and opted to include the Simonton 5500 Garden Window above the farmhouse sink.
Picture Window
One of the most important aspects of the renovation was bringing more night in and creating an uninterrupted view of the backyard. The Marvin Clad Ultimate Casement Venting Picture Window allowed us to do just that. The window pushes out to let air in, keeping the view completely clear.
Sliding Glass Door
While it appeared large, the original sliding glass door barely allowed a person to walk through – especially if you were holding a tray for outdoor entertaining! We installed a four-panel set up patio door in which the two inside panels pushed open, allowing plenty of space to walk outside.
Barn Door
We added a custom reclaimed wood sliding barn door to close off the entrance to the basement stairwell in the kitchen.