THE ULTIMATE KITCHEN RENOVATION: FIVE REAL CASES TO BLOW YOUR MIND

A high-quality kitchen transformation is not defined by how many square feet of wall to take down, how big a kitchen island you add, or what a stylish color pallet you apply. A kitchen renovation is all about personality, so you must make sure all elements and details are as your wish. All 5 cases in this article will take you on a journey to witness the before and after the renovation for different types of kitchens.

Case 1: Change the Layout of a Kitchen to Make It More Spacious

After living many years in Long Island, Rosalina and Lawrence returned to San Francisco and purchased a vintage house with a hundred years of history. Standing in front of the out fashioned interior design and features, they decided to have a thorough makeover for the kitchen, bathroom, and the staircase. The kitchen was their major concern as the walls were yellowed, wooden cabinets were in disrepair, and the backslash color looked strange. The biggest headache amongst all was the lack of storage space that Rosalina had to keep the rice cooker and blender in the living room cabinet. It was neither convenient nor aesthetically pleasing.

Before

They hired a professional interior designer to re-design the kitchen layout and finally decided to add a kitchen island to expand the storage space twice as before and be able to keep large cookers in a reasonable order.

The kitchen adopted grey as the dominating color per the lady-of-the-house’s preference and decorated with some fascinating geometry patterns.

After

Case 2: Increase Cabinet Height to Expand Storage Space

Shoko and Rob live in San Jose and own a 900 sqft small but cozy apartment. The only flaw of the kitchen is that the color pallet is not to their taste. The orange cabinets, black metallic electric equipment, and brown countertop look very depressing.

Before

After communicating with a designer, they set the tone of the kitchen to white, and the small area immediately became bright and spacious. Meanwhile, another layer of cabinets stacked on top of the original to take advantage of the kitchen height. It made the cabinets as close to the ceiling as possible and increase storage space.

Voila. There you have a minimalist-style and unique kitchen.

After

Case 3: Remove Excess Walls to Create a Modern Style

How to make a duplex apartment into a perfect home? In most cases, the answer is to remove excess walls to broaden the view of the lower floor. It makes a great difference in the overall layout in a positive way.

For Romuald and his family, it means to remove a wall originally in between the kitchen and the living room, along with the cabinets that are installed on this wall. To make up the storage space lost, adding an island became the best option.

Before

As a foodie, Romuald put a lot of effort into the kitchen renovation. Because of his passion for cooking, he bought all kinds of appliances, such as toasters, coffee machines, blenders, air fryers, etc. How to keep them organized and easy to find became the priority of the design.

Thus, the designer created an “appliance warehouse” style kitchen island to accommodate his needs, also keep the countertop neat and clean. In addition, a hidden space is designed next to the oven to store cookers and the microwave. The dominating grey color appears classy and stylish under the embellishment of white marble countertops and the classic strip tile back panels.

To facilitate cleaning and prolong the durability. Romuald handpicked title flooring mimics the look of wood flooring.

After

Case 4: When Kitchen Island Meets a Load-Bearing Wall

Jennifer and Joe are a retired construction couple, and they always wished to remodel the kitchen of their apartment in San Francisco. The lady wanted to remove the wall separating the kitchen and the living room to make space for an island, so they can enjoy the incredible ocean view while having meals.

During

Finally, they hired a designer to be told this wall is a load-bearing wall that can’t be fully removed. Under this circumstance, the designer placed the refrigerator behind the must-keep part of the load-bearing wall and removed the rest. The kitchen island is semi-open, satisfies both the lady’s requirement and the stability of the structure. The countertop of the island adopts black and white marble material and a simple-lined waterfall shape.

Around the kitchen island design, Jenifer and Joe DIYed the rest of the kitchen renovation. The minimalist-lined black and white cabinets agree with each other on two sides. An open layout and enlarged window bring beautiful lighting at home to fully reflect the geographic advantage of this apartment.

After

Case 5: Is There Any Help for an Ancient Kitchen?

Dan and Mike rented a two-bedroom home together in Palo Alto. The kitchen is straight from the 80s, and the cramped tiny space barely allowed these two big guys to turn around. They wished to change the layout of the kitchen and to have a style that matched the industrial style of the home converted from a warehouse.

Before

To meet their request, the designer decided to adopt an open kitchen layout, remove a wall, a row of out fashioned cabinets installed high up, and replace them with open storage shelves made of Douglas fir. The floor cabinets have also been redesigned. A stylish waterfall countertop separates the kitchen from the rest space, adjacent to the entrance to the kitchen. It looks like a cool bar from the outside.

They also bought some wooden tables, chairs, and artwork to complement the overall design.

After

In these cases, some kitchens have undergone drastic renovations, such as the removal of walls, or the addition of windows. Some just minor changes, such as reworking cabinets to increase space utilization, or changing the color and texture of cabinets and floors to fit the overall style.

It doesn't matter what approach you take, the right one for you is the best.