#Northcliff Kitchen Reveal

There's really nothing quite as satisfying and fascinating as a good Before and After project. So, my gift to you on this day, one week before Christmas, is one of my favorite Before and After reveals to date. I posted a little intro to this remodel back in January where I dubbed this project #Northcliff. If you missed out on that post, here are some of the Before photos to get us all on the same page as to where this story started.

The best before and after projects begin with a client who is open minded. With every project there is an owner. The person who lives in their space every day. . For some everyday for 30 years, for others everyday for 3 months. Regardless, when you live in a space and see it day in and day out it's hard to imagine it any other way. Even for me, a lot of times I like to design a space before actually seeing it in person, this way I don't get the existing layout stuck in my head. When you're working with wall dimensions and anything is possible, you can truly re-imagine a space allowing it work to it's optimal potential. Luckily, these clients were super open-minded, and because of that, the whole space was completely re-designed.

The new design featured an island, a focal wall, loads of symmetry and storage solutions around every corner. The space wasn't terrible before, but even on paper you can see how open the space became by deleting the peninsula, repositioning the cooktop and adding an island. 

As great as ideas on paper can be, you actually need someone to make it all happen. For this project that someone was Chris Pfahl of Dreamweaver Building & Remodeling. I can't stress enough how essential a good, dependable remodeler is. While the design is essential to the redesign of a space, you are no where without someone who can bring the ideas and drawings to life. There are a lot of contractors out there, but few of them can get the job done without making you want to pull your hair out. This is your house, your dream kitchen/bath/basement, your money - you want someone who can see the big picture and make the process as painless as possible. These projects end up being a huge collaboration and it's amazing how much a good team attributes to a great experience. I think we are all proud of how this one turned out, let me show you around:

                      

Isn't she pretty? The cabinetry is Bell Custom Cabinetry by Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios. The cabinetry construction is beaded inset and the finish is Benjamin Moore's Smokey Taupe - 983.

I love a good focal wall and this one was created by rearranging some key components in the space. By removing the existing pantry and relocating the cooktop and oven to the back wall, a well balanced and symmetrical focal wall was born.

With the oven and cooktop on this wall, accessories and design details were added to complete the cooking hub in this space.

Deep pot drawers were designed under the cooktop for easy access to pots and pans. Pullouts were placed to either side of the cooktop for easy access to spices and crockery. Yes, crockery - the fancy word for spatulas, wooden spoons, etc...basically all of those utensils typically shoved in a drawer or set in a container on the countertop. 

As a symmetry lover, I designed the wall cabinet to the far right to come down to the counter so as to balance with the oven tower on the far left of the cabinetry run.

An Aventos lift was installed on this cabinet for easy access to the toaster and coffeemaker stored inside.

Here's a shot of the other side of the kitchen: 

The refrigerator is the only appliance that stayed in the same general location. I really like the refrigerator and microwave drawer on this wall. 

To me, this location is ideal for both the refrigerator and microwave because it's close enough for the cook to access when preparing a meal, but out of the way enough that should someone want to pop in to grab a carrot or warm their coffee, their not an interference within the cooking zone. 

This whole corner of the kitchen provides ample storage. We even added a LeMans corner pullout so the blind corner could be easily accessed and utilized. These pullouts are God's gift to kitchen corners - it will save you from getting down on your hands and knees to retrieve stored items. They are so smooth, so easy and so functional. 

As I mentioned above the house pantry was demolished to make way for the focal wall, so two tall cabinets were installed to house all of the pantry items. 

These pantries are not very deep due to the walk space behind the island but they are super functional. 

Roll outs were installed in each pantry for easy accessibility to all that is stored inside. When it comes to a pantry, deeper is not always better. The deeper a space is, the easier it is for items to get lost. Roll outs allow the goods to come towards you so you can easily see everything inside. 

The breakfast room sits right off the kitchen and came with a desk:

It was decided the desk would be eliminated and a wet bar would be added to the space instead. The wet bar was going to be placed on a different wall between the breakfast room and the living room. Because this piece would be seen from the kitchen we wanted it all to tie together. So the cabinetry construction and color stayed the same, but some custom mullions were designed to give the bar it's own unique personality. 

So beautiful. 

A space totally transformed, a kitchen with a new life - it doesn't get much better than that friends. If only all clients could be this great and all contractors this easy to work with. Merry Christmas and a Happy Kitchen!

All Before photos were provided by the homeowner and all After photos were taken by Jen Wunderlich Photography.