This beautiful renovation earned our team at Dover the 2020 NARI Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award: Second Place, Kitchen: $100,001- $150,000. For the next 3 weeks, Dover designer and guest blogger Leslie Alton will walk you through this award-winning home remodeling project which features an updated open-concept kitchen that seamlessly blends with the adjoining living spaces.
BLOG #1 of 3 IN A SERIES:
CotY Award Winner: Second Place, Kitchen: $100,001 – $150,000
Creating an updated family-friendly, open-concept kitchen
From our very first meeting with these homeowners, it was obvious that their kitchen was the heart of their busy family home—but yet there was a clear disconnect: The dark, dated kitchen didn’t reflect their creative, outgoing personalities. The rest of their beautifully-decorated home had a cool, transitional-eclectic vibe, but the existing kitchen—with its tired fixtures and cramped layout—just didn’t fit.
A new vision. For their new kitchen, the two busy professionals and their three active children were eager to have a bright, modern aesthetic with all the bells and whistles. Their goal was a kitchen with a more functional layout to make everyday life more efficient and enjoyable—with plenty of inviting, comfortable space for hosting family and friends.
The original kitchen had good bones: It had a large footprint with a spacious dining area; ample natural light; and it was already an open-concept space that transitioned into the adjoining family room. But despite its generous size, the awkward layout made the room feel confined, with a huge void of wasted space in the center.
Original layout & new design:
Where we started. The multi-level bar style island was not ideal for children or for entertaining.
The finishes were outdated with the Corian countertops and mirrored backsplash. And the homeowner was adamant about getting rid of the monstrous double oven that filled an entire corner of the room.
She wanted modern, clean lines and no angles—and some personality. Our main charge for this remodel was to redesign the space with better functionality and to incorporate elegant, contemporary finishes.
Before & after:
The result is a light, bright and airy kitchen with practical features, loads of storage, and a chic neutral palette.
Next week, I’ll move on to demolition, framing—and a couple of hiccups we had to manage along the way—with lots of finished design photos and fixture/selection details.
Thanks for following along,
Leslie Alton
