My Kitchen Remodel – All The Details (PART 1)

After 20+ years, we recently remodeled our Kitchen and I couldn't be happier with the updated design.  When we built our home in 2003, I chose the then-popular style of cherry cabinets and black granite countertops.  Needless to say, I have been ready for an update FOR YEARS but I wanted to wait until I could make some big changes – from cherry wood floors, old appliances, and cabinets that stopped 12" below the ceiling.  I had been dreaming of a light, bright Kitchen with larger appliances, gorgeous veiny countertops, tons of storage, and functional drawers instead of those deep shelves that I never kept organized.

I'm excited to share ALL OF MY SELECTIONS – each and every decision that made my Kitchen custom, personal, functional, light and bright, and a bit over the top.  I mean, I don't get to design without a client very often so I really wanted to research and source unique and beautiful finishes that you don't see on Pinterest or at your neighbor's house.  This was my chance to take risks, ask my contractors to try new things, and test appliances and new materials before I consider recommending them in the future. 

This was my test lab.  And, I will be completely honest about the things I love, the harder choices (there's always a trade off), and what the remodel process was like without a functioning Kitchen, Powder Bath and Laundry Room for a few months. Spoiler alert – it was well worth the endless dust and microwave dinners. 

I also want to THANK my amazing partners and contractors that I had the pleasure of working with on this project.  When I picked each contractor to work on my home – it means they are the best in the business.  And, each one brought vast expertise, talented teams, excellent craftsmanship – and fun to the project.  Truly, The Dream Team!

HARDWOOD FLOORING:

There was never any doubt that I wanted new hardwood floors.  As I mentioned, I had character-grade American Cherry 4" plank flooring since we built our home.  I knew it would be a big expense, but in my experience – Cherry flooring cannot effectively be stained unless you go very, very dark...nearly black.  The red tones will inevitably come back within months and you've gone through the great inconvenience and mess of sanding and re-staining while ending up disappointed.

This was the biggest decision in the remodel, and it's often where I start in my design process while doing a remodel or new construction. Hardwood flooring needs to be super durable, easy to clean, and it sets the tone as the foundation across nearly every room in the house.  It can be casual, rustic, refined, light, rich, classic or historic.  The options are endless, and it was going to run through nearly the whole Main Floor so it was a very important decision.

I worked with the best to educate myself on quality, wood species, brands, stain options, widths and lengths, engineered or solid wood planks.  Jon Norris, owner of Oxbow Hardwoods in Plymouth, MN, was a great resource explaining the pros and cons of various wood species and the construction of different hardwood options.  With his knowledge as a distributor of many brands and options, I landed on a 7.5" French White Oak engineered hardwood from Hallmark Flooring – Malibu in their Alta Vista Collection.

Because of the extreme temperature swings in Minnesota (from -20 degrees to 100 degrees), Jon recommended an engineered hardwood to reduce the expanding and contracting between wide planks.  This product is a more stable choice for our location.  It is also pre-finished in the factory, with a Nu Oil multi-layer finish to offer excellent durability. 

I love the medium-toned stain which has warmth and is timeless. I didn't want a beachy feel of a super light floor, and I didn't want the formality of a dark floor.  This sawn-cut style with a handmade wire brushed texture is both classic and refined – a vintage European design. The best foundation for my Kitchen plans.

CUSTOM CABINET DESIGN + HARDWARE:

I've designed a lot of Kitchens, and quite honestly – it's the hardest room in the house to create a unique, personal space.  The reason is that it's driven by functionality and flow (there is always a "best layout" for every kitchen), and every Kitchen has the same type of appliances (if not the same brand).  Also, it's a space where decisions are pretty permanent – it's not easy to change a layout, or add open shelving, or increase the size of the hood. So selections tend to be safer and more bland so clients don't get tired of the room.

My past Kitchen did have a very well-planned layout.  The sink was in the perfect spot, the work triangle was efficient, and the appliances were balanced throughout the room.  So, switching up the floor plan was not going to give me a "new kitchen".  The new appliances that I chose were bigger though, which did require a few minor adjustments.  I had to move my microwave to a drawer in the island to make room for a wider cooktop, hood and refrigerator.  I also was able to add an extra vertical foot to all the uppers, giving me more storage so I was able to give the hood some breathing room and added sconces on each side.

The other spacial challenge is that I did not have room for a Walk-In Pantry – the dream of nearly everyone designing a Kitchen.  So, I had to really embrace that Pantry area with ultra-functional doors and drawers, and create a visual way to break up the "storage wall" that had been 2 sets of 8' French door style cabinets in the past.  It was never functional with all fixed shelves, and it definitely did not look pretty or special.  

One of the bigger "impacts" to the new Kitchen is that I created the "Pantry Wall" to look like a built-in armoire.  That wall now has deep drawers for pots and pans, a baseboard and crown molding that looks like a furniture piece, 2 smaller sets of doors for food storage, and 2 additional doors for those "not used much" items like vases, seasonal items and back stock.

To break up the "wall of white", I added an opaque mesh detail to the doors on this furniture-looking piece.  And, I also added an "x" detail to all the small, top uppers across the top of the Kitchen for continuity.  9' cabinets can look very tall, so the added x-detail gave it some interest. 

The cabinet company that I partnered with, Engstrom Wood Products in Rogers, MN, has done many remodels and new construction builds with me over the years and I absolutely love working with them.  Their talented draftsmen and cabinetmakers made my dream Kitchen plans come to life! They built completely custom cabinets which have the quality to last for decades.  I worked with their team to select the cabinet door and drawer styles, to custom design the large hood over the 48" cooktop and the "appliance garage" to store blenders and mixers which are on pull-out shelves for easy use.

Custom cabinetry design is all about details, decisions and thinking through ALL the functional needs of your Kitchen.  Where do you plug in your small appliances, where do you toss the trash and recycling, are you right or left handed so you can easily reach the silverware drawer from the dishwasher?  The list of options is endless and many decisions do not cost more money, but they can definitely improve your work space.  So, take time to think through all those little details – while you are cooking in your Kitchen, or reaching for your spices – think through where the best location would be and if there is a drawer insert or a pull out shelf or a built-in paper towel holder that might make everyday life easier.

There were several elevated details and features that were added to my cabinetry by Engstrom Wood Products. Here is a LIST OF DECISIONS AND UPGRADES I made during the cabinetry process.

CUSTOM CABINETRY DETAILS FOR A CLASSIC AND UNIQUE DESIGN:

1. The cabinets are an Inset Design for a clean, classic look.
2. The Cabinet Doors/Drawers are a Shaker Style with a slight ogee edge inside the frame to soften the look and give it more detail...with less dust collection, too.
3. The top drawers are a Flat Front to accommodate larger hardware, while drawers below have the Shaker style with ogee edge.
4. The SubZero Refrigerator + Freezer doors from Ferguson were paneled by Engstrom to match the cabinet doors.
5. The Cove Dishwasher, also paneled, and has a faux-drawer detail so it looks like a drawer + door stack to blend in with cabinetry.
6. The Pantry Cabinet, Island, and Appliance Garage all have a baseboard to look like built-in furniture.
7. The Island also features end posts, in addition to paneled detail.
8. The Pantry features an opaque gold mesh to break up the expansive white cabinet, but also allow for privacy so the messy kitchen supplies don't show.
9. A foot detail was also added to several lower cabinets, so it doesn't look like a floating toe kick area.
10. The oversized hood is a statement piece, custom made for the room and to house the large Wolf exhaust system.
11. All exposed sides on cabinets and island are paneled, including under the island overhang where the counter stools push in. 
12. Engstrom also created a panel to apply on the wall over the doorway to the Mudroom to give the cabinets a continuous connection around the entire U-Shaped perimeter of the room.
13. An Open Shelving Area is a Coffee Bar which features a Tongue & Groove backing and gold bars as hardware details.
14. Pull out Trash/Recycling, pull out rotating corner shelves, and under-cabinet lighting were all incorporated into the design for functionality.
15. I selected oversized pulls for all drawers in unlacquered brass (8", 10", 12"). Grace Cabinet Knobs were selected for all doors. Rigdon Appliance Pulls (18" for refrigerator/freezer/12" for dishwasher) match but are thicker and more sturdy because they are pulled on while opening doors. I also added Traditional Gallery Rails to the open shelving at the Coffee Bar area.

As you can see, there are many great Kitchen ideas so if you need more photos – please reach out and we can send them.

You all know we LOVE COLOR at Grace Hill. And, the cabinet colors were honestly a difficult decision for me. I was sure I was going to do a full "sky blue" Kitchen, or maybe a white Kitchen but I'd pop a "grass green" island in the mix. They sounded so happy and fresh.  But, when it was time to send the paint colors to Engstrom – my final decision was a Benjamin Moore White Dove Kitchen perimeter with a Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue island (both tried and true colors).  I had just come off a really dark Kitchen with a lot of wood, so I ran the opposite direction and chose navy and white.  But, I really don't regret my decision because I chose other areas to add a lot of color – probably more than most would be comfortable with...and, I love it! In my opinion, navy is a neutral because it goes with anything – I can accent with greens, pink, yellow, red, orange, or even black.  Those accent items I can rotate in and out of the Kitchen as I live with it over the years.

There is so much more to share with you, but this is getting long and I don't want you to miss out on any details.

So, stay tuned for more details and photos in "My Kitchen Remodel – Part 2", where I detail the Appliances, Plumbing Fixtures, Lighting, Tile, and Countertops.  Then, I'll wrap up the series with Furniture, Rugs, Window Treatments and Accessories.

I hope you enjoyed the start of this series!  Please feel free to ask questions, as I'm often not able to share details from client projects.  But, in this case – I'm happy to give you info about the design selections, why are chose the items I did, and if I'd make any changes in the future.

xoxo,

kristi

MY FANTASTIC FLOORING, CONTRACTORS AND CABINETRY COMPANIES:

Jon Norris at Oxbow Hardwoods – Jon@OxbowHardwoods.com

Alpine Hardwood, flooring installer – office@alpinehardwoodmn.com

Keith Menzel at Engstrom Wood Products – KMenzel@EngstromWoodProducts.com

Mark Beltrand, contractor – westfarmcreations@yahoo.com

Ferguson.com for appliances – Jodi.Quinehan@ferguson.com