Good morning! I'm happy to share this freshly remodeled kitchen with you on the blog today. I'm so glad it turned out fabulous because it's for a friend and neighbor lol! I wrote a previous post all about the design plan which you can reference here.
This kitchen renovation was a long time in the making because the original cabinet company we worked with announced in November that instead of a January installation, they were backed up until June for orders. Needless to say after working them for 3 months on the design details, we were not happy.
To keep the project on track, I was able to order stock cabinets quickly along with having some custom cabinets made to meet the design / function we wanted. It's important to note that the hardest part of this formula is getting the custom cabinets to match the factory cabinet finish, especially when they sit side by side. It took some work but we did it and yes it 100% has to be done by a professional cabinet finisher!
Every kitchen design has a starting point and for this project, it was the chinoiserie inspired island. When the client first told me she had to have a red island, I was like... um, are you sure about that? But... after looking at several inspiration pictures I was totally on board and even excited to see what we could do.
We customized the island with bamboo corner posts and the client picked Sherwin Williams Radish Red for a custom paint color. She also found some gorgeous brass hardware that is perfect! And let's just take a second to drool over those bar stools she ordered on line and had painted to match... swoon.
The kitchen turned out great and feels so much larger than it was before. A few important things we did to achieve this were removing the ceiling soffit over the bar, eliminating the wall of double ovens at the kitchen entrance, shifting the cabinets by the back door over 3" to the left and of course running the cabinets up to the ceiling.
Another design tip to visually smooth out a space is to create visual symmetry by adjusting cabinet depths to align better. For example, next to and above the refrigerator we used 27" deep cabinets for a more flush look with a standard depth refridgerator.
I absolutely love the shiplap we had installed! It is used as a backsplash over the range, behind the artwork on the coffee bar and it wraps the side /rear of the peninsula island. This client has 3 precious grands that will eat at the bar frequently and shiplap is really durable and easy to clean.
The lighting in this kitchen is so fun! There's two oversized wicker pendants over the island, a wall sconce at the coffee bar with a custom lamp shade and a vintage bamboo chandelier above the breakfast table. Of course, the vintage chandelier was painted SW Radish Red to tie in the color and she plans to have her table and chairs painted white at some point.
Most importantly, this kitchen is not only classy and stylish, it's so much more functional with plenty of storage and countertop space. We installed spice pull out cabinets on either side of the microwave and tray pull outs on either side of the range. And moving the former cooktop out of the island freed up the countertop and allowed for drawer storage, making it look more like a furniture piece.
Hope you enjoyed today's kitchen feature as much as I enjoyed working on it. If you're a lover of color, this kitchen should inspire you!