Challenges:
Our clients were relocating from California to Philomath and needed their kitchen remodeled before they moved. The kitchen in their California home was the inspiration for the design of their new kitchen. We found the Philomath kitchen to be dated, dark, and it felt closed-in with upper cabinets blocking the view of the living room and yard. Some of the significant design challenges included:
- Coordinating with the clients living in California
- Structural issues including an uneven floor and ceiling, a support post in the middle of the peninsula and a ceiling beam across the middle of the room
- Hiding the sink area from the living room.
- Our clients requested no upper cabinets except on the walls
- Special requests included glass panels in upper cabinets, a full size pantry with bookshelves and room for a wine fridge, a tiled focal area above the range, and bamboo cabinetry.
Solutions:
Using email and cell phones, we were able to communicate design ideas back and forth to our clients in California. To create a bright and open kitchen, we installed flat panel natural bamboo cabinets with Vecchio glass inserts and we eliminated the wall cabinets over the peninsula. New ceiling-mounted LED lights provided overall illumination while handcrafted pendant lights provided task lighting for the peninsula. The central post was wrapped in bamboo and integrated into the peninsula. Bamboo crown moulding was installed in a way that disguised the unevenness of the ceiling. The tile floor installation was built-up to level the floor. We created an arched granite backsplash to hide the sink from the living room. To further update the kitchen, gray subway tile and a mosaic brick liner were added, along with a focal area from Pratt & Larson Tile. A pantry area with bookshelves and a wine cooler was created near the kitchen entry to provide the special storage as requested.
When our clients arrived from California all they could say was WOW, you have given us everything we asked for and more!
