Just completed: My kitchen renovation
I just finished my kitchen renovation, so I thought I’d share some photos with you. These photos can also be viewed under my portfolio here. The project took just shy of four months to complete, and I tripled the size of our existing kitchen. The exterior brick wall at the back of our house was removed, so I could expand into the backyard twelve feet. The kitchen layout is an “L” shape, with access to the dining room, library, mudroom and backyard. A large island spans the kitchen from the wet bar area to the main kitchen sink that overlooks the backyard.
I was inspired by the design of bespoke kitchens from England and Belgium. I specified shaker style doors and drawers, and the base cabinets have legs that extend to the floor. The cabinets are painted a light putty/warm gray. The island and sideboard/hutch are quarter sawn white oak with a light green-gray stain.
I designed the custom island to look like a table with thick legs and and a stringer at the base for structural support. One of the legs is hollow, so the electrical conduit can connect to the outlets in the island. Eight people can sit comfortably around the nine-foot-long island, and there is even room for two stools at the ends, if needed. The wood stain on the island matches the stain on the sideboard and hutch that we purchased from Restoration Hardware. I found aged brass, recessed pulls for the pencil drawers on the custom island to match the pulls on the Restoration Hardware piece.
The countertop, backsplash and window sills are manmade quartz that looks like Calacatta marble. It is low maintenance, so wine and pasta sauce just wipe clean. I specified GFI outlets installed on the underside of the upper cabinets, so I could run the quartz backsplash all the way up to the underside of the upper cabinets without interruption.
I designed the custom hood in plaster/drywall and had it painted to match the walls, because I wanted the hood to disappear rather than stand out visually (like most stainless steel hoods).
I believe in mixing metals throughout a space to create visual interest. Both the main and bar sinks and faucets are copper. The oil-rubbed bronze wall sconces are from Cedar and Moss. The cabinet pulls are also in an oil-rubbed bronze finish. The aged brass globe pendants above the island are from Rejuvination.
I designed an upper cabinet with an appliance garage to hide the structural column – this cabinet wraps around the existing 8” deep column that carries the weight of the beam above. The cabinet doors slide in to get out of the way when using the microwave or appliances.
The refrigerator is flanked by 2 full-height pantries, and the cabinets above the refrigerator have vertical slots to house platters and cookie sheets.
The oven, induction cooktop and dishwasher (with custom panel) are Bosch. The undercabinet refrigerator (with custom panel) at the wet bar is U-Line, and the full-height refrigerator is Samsung.
Stay tuned for photos of my Master Bedroom and Bathroom renovation.
Rachael Franceschina 