Our team at Dover was honored by NARI with a 2018 NARI Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award: Second Place, Kitchen Remodel ($60,001 – $100,000), for this beautiful project. For the next 3 weeks, designer and guest blogger Shelley Bujdos will take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of this award-winning kitchen renovation. Enjoy the design inspiration.
BLOG #1 of 3 IN A SERIES:
CotY Award Winner: 2nd Place, Kitchen Remodel: $60,001 – $100,000
From cookie-cutter to completely custom: Creating a dream kitchen
From day one, these original homeowners were not happy with their basic, builder-grade kitchen. The layout just didn’t work: An awkward two-tiered island with a cooktop created poor clearance for the refrigerator, dishwasher and double oven. And the oversized refrigerator looked out of place.
Turning to Dover to revamp the space and create the kitchen of their dreams, these homeowners had a detailed wish list: Organization, function and style were absolute essentials. A built-in look for the oversized refrigerator, more pantry space, a large prep area, a ventilated range hood and a drop zone were also top priorities. Organized wine storage for these connoisseurs would make the new kitchen space truly perfect.
Here’s what we started with:
We were able to honor all of the homeowners’ requests and achieve design functionality working within the room’s original footprint—which is always helpful from a budget standpoint.
Next, I’ll walk through the problems and solutions—complete with photos—to demonstrate how we approached the remodel, starting with the island:
The awkward two-level island created uncomfortable clearance for the perimeter appliances. In fact, the double ovens and dishwasher had to be loaded and unloaded from the sides! The narrow upper level of the island was completely wasted space; and you could not sit at the island and open the refrigerator at the same time. Clearly, this layout was all wrong.
The new island offers ample clearance for all surrounding appliances. It houses a microwave drawer (by Sharp) and convenient roll-out pot and pan storage. The decorative back panels are actually touch-latch doors that open to even more storage space.
There’s a lot more to see in this kitchen renovation. In my next post, I’ll show you how we used custom cabinetry to improve functionality and create a fabulous new refrigerator wall.
Shelley Bujdos
