“We waited 31 years to redo our kitchen and even though we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted done, we started getting ideas and bids from some of the standard companies, however, none of their ideas left us feeling excited about a new kitchen. We were so bogged down with unexciting ideas the project was stalling out.
Then a friend referred us to Sandra at Cabinets by Design and after our first meeting, we knew we had finally found the right person! What a difference! Sandra impressed us with her working knowledge of kitchen design, her professionalism, her high quality standards and products. Her suggestions for the final design were right on.
We absolutely love our new kitchen and would recommend Sandra to anyone.”
Fred and Kathryn Helm
The Helm family’s kitchen is the center of many family and social gatherings however, they were frustrated trying to put out a feast in such a confining space. Besides The low ceiling, poor lighting and lack of accessible storage, Kathy dreamed of having help cooking but, this kitchen was built for one. Removing the soffit and changing the layout from the dated U-Shape to an L-Shape with an island, opened up the space and gave the Helms the flow and storage they were longing for.
The innovative design of the island serves multiple purposes. Peg drawers for dishes and a microwave drawer gave way for a swing out spice rack next to the range and more wall cabinet space for glassware. The rich dark walnut Butcher block adds texture and contrast while creating a large work surface for multiple cooks. It also has room for a stool for Kathy’s comfort while making cookies with her grandchildren. The wave shape of the complimenting granite bar top lends itself perfectly for a buffet.
The slip resistant tile, large apron sink, new location of the dishwasher along with the trash/recycle cabinet makes cleaning up easy and safe. The new cabinets were dropped down from the ceiling and above cabinet lighting were added to enhance the ambiance along with the decorative lighting above the island. Canned lights and fluorescent under cabinet lighting cover all tasks. Additional lighting adds emphasis to the Helm’s gourd collection over the refrigerator.
The custom wood hood repeats the lines of the decorative rustic cherry wall cabinets and the metal tile in the backsplash below create an interesting focal point. The asymmetric balance of the open shelving, use of contrast and color all contribute to the warm & inviting feeling of this new kitchen that the Helm family now love. The island presented the most challenges of the build, since were under holiday deadline constraints and trying to coordinate the build of the kitchen with the ordering of the custom butcher block.
We walked a fine line between pre-ordering the butcher block to be cut at specified angles and then tackled building the stub wall for the island to the exact specifications needed so that the cabinets would install at precisely the correct locations.
Enjoy the transformation photos of this project:
