Kitchen 
Home Location : Blaine, MN
Home Built : 2000
Photographer : Joy Watson, Modern Joy Photography

Summary :

Just a kitchen update” required keeping the natural-oak cabinets, Oak flooring & white appliances. Using imagination & creativity, we passionately embraced this royal challenge. Custom cabinetry with matching stain turned the original cramped two-tiered island into one-level with room for additional storage & books. By changing the base cabinetry at the former cluttered key drop area, we were able to build in a refrigerator creating a new beverage center perfect for entertaining!

Here, the obscure EcoGlass with leaded dividers displays pieces of nostalgic stemware, and on the opposite wall, it helps break up a solid bank of upper cabinets. Conscious of the mudroom & dining rooms soft-green walls, we selected a complimentary Cloak Gray moody purple by Sherwin-Williams for the kitchen. This neutral plays to all the new finishes. Existing appliances remained – no change.

All perimeter & island countertops with wood edges were replaced with DolceVita FX180 Laminate countertops using post-form Ideal Edge. The dull double bowl drop-in sink was replaced with a single bowl under mount Karran stainless steel sink and shiny faucet. One former recess light over the sink was replaced with a SeaGull Lighting Pendant to help fill the former visually empty corner. New electrical for the appliance and under cabinet lighting around the entire perimeter also brings attention to the new finishes & brings depth & interest to the formerly unbalanced kitchen corner.

All brought a drastic change to our clients feeling of pride in her beautiful home.

Client Testimonial :
Quail Creek Parkway Northeast

I was happy with the design process, taking my time to make sure my money was spent with the best choices for my taste. I was able to meet my wish list on my modest budget & am so very happy with the results!

Homeowner


Scope & Objectives :

The goal was to take this clients love of the very modern look & integrate it into her very conventional home she originally built many years ago.

“Purple is my favorite color” she said, bringing her to a happy place. Fitting her personality, purple combines the calm stability of blue & the fierce energy of red.

Emphatic, her shimmering mosaic mix of glass/iridescent/metallic accent-tiles were going to be the extravagant backsplash. “I was happy with the design process, taking my time to make sure my money was spent with the best choices for my taste.”

Purple color combines a strong warm with a strong cool thereby retaining both color properties. This is suitable for a traditional kitchen that mixes contemporary elements.

Tasteful integration re-energized the home, which gave her a new vitality: “I was able to meet my wish list on my modest budget & am so very happy with the results!”


Challenges & Solutions :

She loved Danish Modern furniture and wanted stainless steel countertops – yet decorated with fake flowers & vines, knick-knacks & country oak furniture. Self-employed as an independent accounting consultant & nearing retirement, budget was a concern.
Existing brass exposed hinges & knobs changed to concealed soft close hinges & brushed nickel pulls.


This would just involve simple block/putty filler IF cabinets were going to be painted as originally planned, but during the project she decided to keep the natural Oak finish. So a custom cut wood filler to stain/varnish was required on both the doors AND the cabinet face frames where the former exposed hinges were.

The existing portion of the island and perimeter cabinet corners have a routed edge which we carried through to the new beverage center base & created a little more work to the additional island cabinetry. We had to make the new bookcase portion larger to step it out, customizing the ends and route four corners, installing new base shoe. When the cabinets were going to be painted we could just fill the gap & flush out the ends.


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