An Amazing Kitchen Transformation - Before & After

Check out the before and afters of this amazing kitchen transformation....we did more than just paint!

Click to link to my new blog, HERE. 

Check out this kitchen project's stunning makeover!

You won't believe what it looked like before. Check it out HERE on my new blog.

HGTV's show, Flip or Flop, is making a big design mistake, IMO.

Want to see a big design mistake that I feel the HGTV show Flip or Flop is making???

It has to do with appliances. Check it out HERE on my new site.

Can't Get Rid of your ugly cabinets? Try this.

Yes, there is some paint involved. But check out everything we did, REUSING these ugly cabinets.

Click HERE to see the results.

Before and After: An amazing remodel with drama, style, and an edge!

Want to see an amazing transformation? Yes, that's the before shot above.

Want to see a dowdy, dreary, tired Scottish flat turned into an edgy, sophisticated, eclectic, cool environment that just oozes style?

Click through for some incredible design eye candy!

Here's a peek.

Are you gobsmacked yet? You will be.

Click HERE.

Before and After - Craftsman / Industrial style kitchen remodel

See more images and the "befores" of this remarkable transformation HERE 

Contrasting Kitchen Islands

Sometimes kitchens can look a little bland and boring all in one color or finish.  On some of my kitchen remodels I recommend making the island a contrasting finish so that it stands out as a piece of furniture or relieves some of the monotony of the cabinetry.  When I do that I often find I need to change the counter there too.  The kitchens then become sort of a two tone scheme, where there is a light counter on the dark cabinet and vice versa.  This design is not for every situation but it does work well in many instances.

Aston Design Studio remodel

In the remodel above, the island really becomes the centerpiece of the kitchen with a beautiful wood finish and details like turned legs.  The counter is a textural limestone, coral reef, that brings more interest and brings everyone to the "table" of the kitchen.

Aston Design Studio remodel

A two tone scheme here was created, white counter on dark island and dark counter on white perimeter cabinets.

Aston Design Studio remodel

A new stained wood island becomes an added quality feature in this remodeled kitchen.  Again, light counter on darker island, dark counter on light perimeter cabinets. I'm doing a kitchen now where we have wood perimeter cabinets and a painted island.  Still contrasting, just the other way around.

Aston Design Studio remodel

You can see what I mean.  On both of these last two, we kept the existing floors for budget purposes. The floors were so light that going with the contrasting island really helps give some definition in the spaces.

The following designers also utilized a contrasting island to add interest and break up the space.

Jim Howard - House Beautiful

Suzanne Lantz - Traditional Home

Healing Barsanti - House Beautiful

 

Joan Nemirow - Traditional Home

M. Elle Design - Elle Decor

Christopher Peacock - House Beautiful

Dee Dee Taylor Eustace - Traditional Home

Nancy Bozhardt - House Beautiful

Stanley Hura - Traditional Home

Barry Dixon - House Beautiful

Ray Booth - Elle Decor

Loving some contrast in the kitchen!

Before and After Kitchen

A before and after kitchen/breakfast room remodel of mine from a few  + years ago.  The 1990 dated finishes had to go.  Glossy small tile, dated wallcovering and window treatments, tired cabinetry, mauve solid surface counters and splash were out.  The homeowner wanted a more sophisticated, neutral palette with a traditional look. 

Before

After

I felt the big space needed some contrast.  The homeowner had selected the dark granite when she came to me so I chose a paint color in a similar value for some contrast in the cabinetry.  All cabinetry was existing, we added some traditional details like legs and paneling to the island and brackets and seed glass panels to some of the upper cabinets.

Before

After

I love the delicatus granite on the island.  Doing a contrasting granite here took some convincing!

before

Look at that awkward backsplash.  We spent some money relocating outlets and switches as best we could (with remodels sometimes that's all you can do) and I did a low backsplash that would blend with the counters.  The switches that still showed were done in a Lutron color to match the wall color to minimize the visual clutter.

After

Before

A corner fireplace that you really never noticed when you walked around the corner into the kitchen.

After

We went floor to ceiling tumbled travertine and furred out a bit to make that corner fireplace a star.

wet bar before

after

Before - looking through to the breakfast room and view from the kitchen

After Breakfast Room

What a beautiful view they have.  We highlighted it by framing the windows in a contrasting color to blend with the black window frames.  All her furniture was reused and reupholstered.  We even just ended up painting her bar stools and reusing them.

Done some 5 years ago, I think it's stood the test of time.  These clients were such a delight to work with.  I went back a few years later and redid their master bedroom and bath.  Repeat clients are the holy grail of an interior design business.  You don't have to prove yourself again! 

All After photos by Cliff Roe

Join me at the Open House Party at No Minimalist Here

Kitchen Remodel - Before and After

A kitchen remodel project of mine, done about five years ago. 

Before - dated cabinetry, appliances, tile, counters, and a small island

We painted the cabinets, added new counters in contrasting stones, a new island, appliances, backsplash, and a little detail with the curvy lighting. The flooring remained for cost considerations.

I think my favorite thing we did was replace the standard issue upper cabinet by the sink to something custom built for that narrow space.

I also liked the curtains we did.  She wanted a French country look, so I went with a tone on tone pattern, not too busy, framing the view nicely and making for a cozy eating nook.  No drapes to the floor in the breakfast room here, they would just get in the way too much.

I'm working on some great new projects I can't wait to share soon.  Check out my conference table today.

Work in progress.  (Don't worry, it's not all going in the same room!)  A house with a neutral taupe environment using some strong contrast and bright spots of color. This one is really fun! 

Project Reveal

Some projects have one element of design that takes charge and is the boss of the project.  In other words, where every decision you make about the design is based on featuring and applying one chosen element to that decision.  That element with this project was texture.

It was really the driving force behind all the material selections, the way the materials were combined, and something we indeed wanted to feature.  It was something we revisited with the design of every room....how does texture play a part in this space?  

After - Kitchen

Some of my photos are complete on this remodel project.  I still have another photo day to schedule in, but I thought I'd share a few of the areas today.  I've got before and afters of the kitchen and family room. 

Before - Kitchen

I shared a bit about this project HERE in a previous post.  The homeowner had all of the furnishings, art, rugs, etc. and I was challenged to remodel the home to feature all of her wonderful things and show them off in their best light.  She wanted the same warm, comfortable feel that many of her antiques and collected pieces possessed.  As an artist, working in textile and jewelry design, she has quite an eye for detail and most of her things had been acquired while living overseas in Pakistan and Kazakstan.  She has collected the things she loves..... antique textiles, beadwork, woven tapestries, and rugs.  The items this homeowner had were all about texture.

The house was built in the early 90's and the whole thing was mauve, paint, tile, counters, exterior, everything, except for the cabinets which had turned orange over the years.  She definitely wanted a warmer, more rustic feel.  New wood floors throughout warmed up the space as did the warm white paint color that was used on everything, walls, ceiling, mouldings, and cabinetry.  I wanted a gallery-like backdrop for her colorful, textural pieces and the wood floor grounded everything.

After - Kitchen

The kitchen was very dated, with an oddly shaped island. I wanted to get rid of the raised bar counter. It served to divide the kitchen and felt like one side was a corridor and the other the kitchen. With the island at one level, it encourages everyone to come to the center "table". We kept the perimeter cabinets and painted them the color of the envelope to minimize them and draw attention to the new, beautiful wood island.  The antiqued limestone counter on the island has an interesting texture with fossils and shells embedded and just feels wonderful to the touch.  Those slabs came from MCA in Houston and they are called coral reef. The bone limestone backsplash, material also from MCA, blends with the envelope and repeats the material.  I love the way the Visual Comfort Goodman hanging lamps punctuate the light colored space with their simple shape.  We purchased those through Circa in Houston. The Rohl faucets add so much to the kitchen too.  They're in the Tuscan brass finish, a living finish, that will age over time.  Again, some visual texture.  

After - Kitchen

Before - Kitchen island

Before - Island

It was definitely time to remodel.  Could the finishes be any more dated??

After - Family Room

This is the family room, beyond the kitchen.  You can really see her collections here. That suzani tapestry is an antique and she's had it for years.  She didn't do this because it was trendy!

We continued all the finishes in to this space and ripped out the old entertainment center built-in.  I felt it needed the richness and texture of the wood here, so the floor material came up on the wall and provided a stopping place for your eye.  The wood grille panels in the cabinet doors were custom made to repeat some of the texture in the room.

Family Room Entertainment Center

Before - Family Room

Check out the grillework on the cabinet doors below.  Great for airflow to the equipment inside and adds so much interest to the large built-in cabinet.

 cabinetry under construction

The counterstools were custom made, really the only new furniture item.  See the worn, textural, comfortable feel they have?  

I'll save the living room and master bath for another post.  The homeowner has a couple of cats that we did not ignore. You should see the special place we made for them! 

One of the most important ways to get continuity in a project is to have that single purpose, style, goal, element always at the crux of your decision making.  When you wander off, distracted by something new and pretty.....revisit that purpose.  It will steer you in the right direction every time. 

All after photos by Miro Dvorscak