living areas

I’m finally posting some before and after photos from the cottage style kitchen and great room renovation we did. The project really turned out beautifully! Our client purchased this home years prior near the beach and had always envisioned transforming the 80’s style decor/layout into an open concept cottage style interior. Our client also loves to cook, so the function and layout of the kitchen played a major role in the new plan.

We were so glad she chose us to help bring her dreams to reality!

Existing Plan:

Conceptual Plans:

Kitchen:

The existing kitchen was somewhat dark and closed off (see photo below). The photo on the left shows a wall behind a peninsula island; we completely removed that wall to open up the kitchen to the dining and living area beyond during the renovation.

A lot of older homes like this have little nooks and crannies that become seemingly useless space over time. In this renovation, we made sure to take advantage of every bit of the interior… transforming those wasted areas into useful, functional space!

In the photo below, you’ll see a bay window that faces a beautiful wooded back yard. Unfortunately no one ever really used that window… even the loveseat faces away from the view!

We ended up replacing those tall windows with shorter above counter windows and locating the kitchen sink there to take full advantage of the view. I know it sounds “sad” to remove those tall windows…but I assure you the extra 12″ of glass did no good if no one used them!

Great Room:

The living and dining areas of this home also needed some major updating. Take a look at the existing rounded drywall fireplace mantle below…very unique to say the least!

Living Room after – what a transformation!

Dining Room:

To help define the dining area, we added a chandelier above the table, wainscoting, and the homeowner also purchased a rug. We also added decorative beams to the vaulted ceiling above, and by placing one central to the table, we were able to hide wiring for the chandelier.

Dining before – the wall to the left behind the china cabinet was a shared wall with the kitchen. This wall was removed and a bar peninsula was added.

Dining Room after!

The main foyer of the home also needed updating.

I love how it turned out!

We just completed construction on phase one of living room and kitchen remodel project! To give you some background, our client bought an early 90’s style home in a great location (Ogden Dunes…yep, near the beach!), always dreaming of updating the interior but having a hard time getting things moving. She was open to just about anything…which was very exciting for us.

They wanted to open up their existing kitchen (see image below) which was small, closed off and a little awkard. They also wanted update their living room fireplace and foyer area. She had a picture cut out of a magazine she had been carrying around for awhile which showed the style she was looking for. It was a modern cottage/beach style interior…which we totally loved as well. It was very fitting for the area they lived in and since their home had great “bones”, we really had a lot to work with.