Kate's Kitchen

Christine,

I have bought a 2nd house… not wanting to spend a whole lot but trying to redo a kitchen into something cool & functional.
I had my hubby remove the supporting wall between kit/DR. Now there is an LVL beam which acts as a bit of a room divider. I am having trouble arranging the space because of the funky set of constraints. Besides the overhead beam, there’s a window which is 61” across, the short wall with the stove cannot be too deep, current stove seems to jut out into room. I was planning to keep the frig under the stairs because it fits well there and does not stick out into the room. I want nice, inexpensive cabinets like the best ones at Grossman’s Bargain Outlet. They are solid wood. Can you help me?
Thanks, Kate

Hi Kate,
I have a plan for your kitchen- let’s break it up into categories.

1. Your ceiling: You have an existing beam cutting the room into two sections. I say- add two more beams- as per my drawing. This changes the room from being cut in half- to one area that you have to work with. Add bead board to the ceiling- the deeper the grooves the better. Paint the beams and the bead board the same color. (Either red, khaki, or cream- I choose red)
2. Your existing built-in. I find it charming. Please keep it in your design. I would paint it green- make it a fun element in the room.
3. Your cabinet configuration. Your existing kitchen has a good working triangle with your sink, stove and refrigerator. So- keep it. The cabinets by the stove- I drew in similarly- adding an angled bank on the right to mimic the one on the left. You might want lit, open decorative shelves all the way down on the angled cabinets.Your refrigerator area is great- I love how it doesn’t have to come into the room- being under the stairs. Add a broom closet- or pull-out pantry door to the right of the refrigerator. Another option would be a large freezer- refrigerator combo that fills the whole area- assess your needs. I lengthened the counter by your sink by an additional 3 ½ feet- made possible by the new ceiling design. I would add a farmhouse style sink. Remove the soffit and use the height to the ceiling if possible.
4. I added an island. Every room needs a wow factor. Make that your island. This one is from Guildmaster. The hand-painted vegetables are just fabulous! Use a shade of the green for your built-in- and a shade of the red for your ceiling. Use the color of the butcher block top for your other new cabinets. Use the light cream color (in the veggies)- for your wall color. This is the inspiration piece that will pull the room together.
5. Your cabinets. I could tell from your e-mail that you intend to keep the cabinets inexpensive. One way to do this is to not have upper doors. In a narrow room like this- it also gives the room a wider feel- and cool design element. Be sure to have good-looking matching dishes. :) The example below is from Martha Satewart- But you could go a step less expensive than that and just purchase shelves and brackets from Lowes or Home Depot. To be more decorative- there is also a nice selection from invitinghome.com- like the corble below:
6. Your windows. You added some color with the island- but we need to follow that up with some more pattern and color on your windows. I would use Roman shades. I selected four fabrics for you from Beacon Hill- hey readers- which is your favorite?

The Floral: The Stripe: The Diamond: The Small Print: The Peacock:
7. Art Add some cool art to your walls in your dining area opposite the built-in- I selected for you the antigue looking red doors at the top of the post.

8. Your floors: I would go with cork- The one I selected below is called Maple- from Globus Cork.

8. Your lighting: I can see that your kitchen is gutted from your photos- so now is the time to make the lighting perfect.
· 15- 6” can lights as per my drawing- on a dimmer switch- for full lighting during task use and lower lighting during dining.
· 3 directional eyeball lights by built-in
· Hanging light over table. I chose these three options from Shades of Light- Which is your favorite? Strawberry Chandelier: Hanging Lantern: Red bamboo:
· Under cabinet lighting- on a timer to come on every evening.


There you have it Kate- your kitchen is perfect. Why don’t you just follow my instructions exactly- and then send in some pictures . :)