The talented artisan's home before and after, side by side

AFTER, outside corner

Before, outside corner

AFTER, outside corner

AFTER< large island replaces breakfast table

BEFORE, breakfast table was replaced by large island

BEFORE, refrigerator up against the wall

After, refrigerator moved to center, pantries refinished and reused.

Before, sink with trash compactor



AFTER, sink with recycle unit

BEFORE, outside corner

AFTER, outside corner

The talented artisan's home .... AFTER

The original kitchen was quite small and the family large. The breakfast nook was next to the dining room causing two tables to be almost side by side. A small opening into the family room wasn't letting the space become a "great" room.
Well, take down a couple of walls and you have a something to work with. The breakfast nook is now a long island that cements the baking area and creates a larger kitchen. With a prep sink added to the long island it now allows interaction between family room and kitchen. Small island serves as a needed landing/prep area for the refrigerator and main sink. Storage and function are improved in the new kitchen. See before and after blog for photos. Contractor Aaron Chapman Builders for cabinet install. M&amp;S Granite for countertops, Czyz's Appliance (David). Homeowner for tile install with design help from Callahan's. Design and Bellmont 1600 cabinets from Reginato Designs. Cherry with a "Bourbon" finish on cabinets. Limestone Jerusalem beige on counter tops.

The talented artisan's home ..... BEFORE

The problem with the old kitchen was that it was small and lacked storage. By taking down the wall/hanging cabinets between dining room and breakfast nook we were able to change the floor plan's traffic flow. A large island took the space where a breakfast table had been and we removed the bench , nice as it was, it didn't fit new storage plans. We wrapped the cabinets around an outside corner and put the double ovens there creating a " baking center" We saved two good tall pantry cabinets, refinished and incorporated into new design. By having a color scheme that blended cherry with maple they look at home. Glass door cabinets have a natural birch interior that also reinforces the color scheme as well as a dash of maple in the trim.  Flooring was removed and travertine tile that blends with family room was installed ( by homeowner no less ). Small prep sink was moved to larger of two islands, completing the "baking center" Large island has table details and overhang for seating. The new travertine  floor is heated and so is the large island counter top. Nothing more uncomfortable than leaning on cold stone on a winters day!

Alameda Arts and Craft BEFORE

The old existing kitchen was redone in the 1970's. All the appliances were shot, floor plan was not utilizing the homes potential. Small back door didn't invite you out to the deck or bring in the beauty of the back yard with its Japanese Maples. There wasn't enough natural light . The old dark cabinets weren't in keeping with the arts and craft style of the home. The soffits above wall cabinets are so very out of date and useless for extra storage. The ovens were oddly placed in a tower in the middle of the room which cut room in two !

Alameda Arts and Craft kitchen AFTERS

 This beautiful old house in a tree lined street in Alameda was built around the turn of last century. The original kitchen, long gone. The  kitchen I first saw was done probably in the 1970's and had some serious design flaws as you'll see in the before photos. The first challenge was to correct the doors and windows as natural light was lacking and the traffic flow was bad. The 30""back" door was replaced with a 72" slider that mimics a French door and has Arts and Craft grids that mimics the built in dining room cabinetry. The window on the left of sink was also changes to allow a upper cabinet. The laundry became a stacking unit and the extra space turned into a pantry. The built in refrigerator and Micro/Oven on one wall functions with the new island and cooktop. The entire plan was made more efficient and dramatically improved the functionality of the room. New lighting, redone floors and a happy new yellow paint color finish the scheme. Contractor added a new wainscot wall into kitchen from dining room and the blend of old and new was created.  White painted cabinet with the island in cherry. Light Esmeralda granite and a mosaics marble green tile backsplash.
Contractor: Aaron Chapman Builders , cabinets: Omega/Dynasty, appliances: Thermador .