Living in the picturesque town of Aliso Viejo is always more luxurious when all of that warm California sun can fill the home. The owners of this kitchen came to APlus with a desire to let the light shine in and refresh their abode.
Before
Prior to our renovation, this kitchen sported dated maplewood cabinets with gold hardware, colors that only darkened the space and made the kitchen feel like a blast from the past. The cabinet layout was inefficient, leaving a great deal of unused space. Overall, the room lacked any sort of distinctive style, and simply didn’t have the zesty energy of the home’s other rooms.
Restructuring
We began the renovation by pulling out all of the old cabinets and even the corner pantry, planning a new U-shaped layout that wrapped around the kitchen’s walls and opened up toward the dining and family room. The client chose Beaded Insert Face style cabinets with Jianas doors, made out of paint grade maple. The new cabinets were painted in Whisper White by Dunn Edwards and given matching interiors of painted birch plywood. Clear glass panels were set within some of the dish cabinets, and all of the drawers and doors were set with stainless steel hardware knobs and pulls in various styles.
Despite installing more cabinetry in this small kitchen, it actually looks larger than before. Every bit of space available was used for custom cabinets, and their clean white coloring now reflects the light from the windows to illuminate the entire room. The center island was also rebuilt to accommodate seating if needed, making the space more welcoming. 1 ½” straight edge granite countertops in a muted gray tone add some dimension to palette. The same effect is achieved by the vertical white wood paneling that makes up the backs of the open cabinets, as well as full height backsplashes of white glazed porcelain tile in horizontal and herringbone patterns.
By painting the surrounding walls a shade of rich butter yellow, this transitional kitchen is injected with that warm, sunny feeling the homeowners were striving for. To add some contrast and a bit of sophistication, the old linoleum floors were replaced with Max Windsor Hardwood Floors in Mocha Sunset Hickory.
Appliances
A number of appliances were selected from Thermador, one of our most popular providers of high-end appliances. A Professional Series 36” Gas Range Cooktop was installed beneath the new stately wooden hood at the center of the kitchen’s back wall. To the left of it was installed a Masterpiece Series 30” Double Electric Wall Oven with 4.7 cu. ft. of cooking space. On the opposite side of the kitchen, to the right of the double-bowl farmhouse sink is an Emerald Series Fully Integrated Dishwasher. The new refrigerator is from KitchenAid, a 21.8 cu. ft. Counter-Depth French Door model of the Pro Line Series. All appliances were chosen in a coordinating stainless steel finish, adding a contemporary influence to this beautifully revamped kitchen.
