White and Light: Wooded Retreat Kitchen

Surrounded by woods, the plentiful windows to this home provide a beautiful view of the great outdoors, but often don’t let in enough light. However, this home is perfectly situated for a nature-loving couple with two kids under 5 years old to enjoy, escape, and explore- they just needed to let a little more light in. Our goal with this kitchen and living room renovation was to increase the presence of natural light by brightening up the space with materials that allow sunlight to bounce around. This 1980s kitchen needed to be updated with the most efficient, functional fixtures and materials. With two children who love to play outside, it was extremely important that surfaces look clean, even when they’re not entirely spotless from dirt that the kids drag in. Just in need of a slight facelift, read about the small, but significant, changes we made to illuminate the beauty of this space.

The clients loved the original cabinetry and wanted to incorporate it into the rest of the kitchen’s design. Before, the cabinets were a blonde wood which didn’t darken the kitchen, but didn’t allow light to reflect much either. So, we finished them with a white satin finish which allowed sunlight to bounce off to illuminate the rest of the kitchen.

 

In previous projects, clients opted to gut the cabinetry completely and have them go up all the way to the ceiling. Luckily, this client got much use and enjoyment out of the beautifully crafted original cabinets, complete with French-styled doors that allow you to safely display the dishes inside.

 

We didn’t replace the cabinets, but we made sure we added ample lighting underneath. After all, counter space is where you work and it should be well lit. To maximize the brightness, the backsplash is light grey glazed subway tile. This adds a streamlined, modern touch to the kitchen, and the material allows enough light to reflect onto the working surface.

 

Our client loves classic designs with modern touches. So, we added two shiny chrome industrial pendant lights over the island to achieve that look exactly. Once more, see how these reflect the light? Everything we did in this kitchen subtly adds glow to the entire space- in a way that is functional AND fashionable.

 

As for the floor, the surface needed to be easy to clean yet difficult to spot dirt. This grey-brown porcelain tile is not only a smooth finish for easy-clean up, but also helps to blend the natural granite, the breakfast area furniture, and the grey modern touches together.

Moving onto the living room, the double-sided fireplace that is meant to bring both rooms together actually poses an interesting obstacle. The previous, outdated mantle used to jut out into the walkway, making passersby duck and dodge to avoid bumping into the sharp corner. We removed this hazard, and created a custom mantle that fit perfectly into the living room side of the fireplace. We outlined the fireplace with mini brick slate tiles continuous in style with the fusion of modern, natural, and classic elements that the kitchen now features. To streamline the journey from the kitchen to the living room, we changed the structure of the doorway to an open arch, rather than a closed, blunt line. This simple structural solution opened up the entire space, allowing the kitchen to be admired from the living room. Now, the double-sided fireplace didn’t have to feel like it was two-timing the kitchen and living room: rather, with the help of the arched doorways, it was uniting the two as one. This is especially important if you are the type who loves to entertain! The happenin’ rooms are of course the space where you cook the culinary creations your guests crave, and the space where your guests gather to sit, chat, and socialize with one another.