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.
