There are many things that make a kitchen great.  It could be the finishes that you choose, or the space it provides.  Often, though, it’s a question of function and amenities. 

For my summer project house in Inglewood, I started with a clear slate.  The homeowner had removed everything down to the bare walls and subfloor.  It was my job to put it back again.  We were remodeling the home for sale.  Though it’s an attractive older home in an established neighborhood, it’s a fairly basic starter home.  The goal was to make it fantastic throughout, but not necessarily high-end.   

Kitchen Before

We started by considering the layout and the types of amenities that we wanted to include.  For example, we needed to add a closet somewhere that would contain a stackable washer and dryer.  We also wanted to add a dishwasher and garbage disposal.  In addition, we were hoping to open up the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

It seemed like a tall order, but we started sketching ideas (on the wall, of course) and were able to come up with a layout that fulfilled all this criteria and seemed to make great sense.  To begin, I would be removing a large portion of the wall and reframing it so that I could add a deep laundry closet in the far left corner. 

The dimensions worked out so that we could install some fairly basic stock cabinets that would be painted white.  The counters would be a custom laminate selected by the homeowners to match the tile and fixtures that they had picked out. 

Before and After

The pictures above show the huge difference that it makes to widen a doorway and open up the space.  Before, the kitchen was its own separate room with a very narrow doorway.  Now, the kitchen flows right into the adjacent dining room, making it feel more like one large space and less closed off.

Tomorrow, I’ll highlight some of the finishing touches in the kitchen.