The original kitchen of this 2-story home had the typical dark cabinetry of the 1970s. The owners wanted a spacious, elegant, and functional country kitchen. Their wish list included:
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| The microwave and oven (along the left of this photo) provide a secondary cooking area. The abutting granite countertop allows hot items to be placed directly on the heat-resistant surface. |
· Adequate counter space
· Lighter-colored cabinetry
· A center island
· Pleasant sink environment
· Eating area
· Better lighting
· A large display shelf
· Hardwood flooring
· An informal sitting area
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| The microwave and oven (along the left of this photo) provide a secondary cooking area. The abutting granite countertop allows hot items to be placed directly on the heat-resistant surface. |
Our first objective was to expand the kitchen with a 252 sq.ft. addition to the back of the house. The larger space meant a pleasant gathering area where the homeowners could perform their day-to-day routines of food prep and eating ... and a bright and airy space for entertaining.
A balance of glass throughout allows for evenly distributed natural lighting from morning to sunset but not so much as to create a heating or cooling problem.
A large island with cooktop provides a spacious cooking area with plenty of counter space. The cook can interact with family and friends ... and it can easily be configured as informal seating for breakfast or snacks. The plentiful counter areas allow several people to work together.
Other considerations were traffic flow, adequate walking clearances, safety, and functional materials. Entering the new kitchen from the central hallway, the traffic flows around the dinette area into the sitting area where the large walkout bay window adds a strong visual perspective of the great outdoors.
Although the traffic may circulate around the island, the cooking area is isolated from the main traffic flow. The island countertop has rounded corners as a safety feature. A pleasing sense of texture is created by combining a variety of materials: wood, solid surface veneer, granite, ceramics, and stainless steel. This visually interesting kitchen is both elegant and functional.
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