When we first met Matt, he just wanted to give his kitchen a little upgrade. He wanted to add some cabinets and counterspace to make his kitchen more functional. Of course, we were more than happy to oblige and give Matt the little bit of extra space he was in need of. However, after starting the project and getting to know Matt a little better, we all knew that he needed more than just some extra space. You see, Matt LOVES to be in the kitchen. Matt cooks, bakes, brews coffee, mixes cocktails, and entertains his friends. What he needed was a kitchen that allowed him to flourish in his element, but also didn’t completely break the bank.
With the budget set and the project goals outlined we began to come up with the best bang-for-your-buck remodel plan for this kitchen. The kitchen already sat right off of the dining room, housed the staircase to go down to the finished basement, and had a door to a beautiful rear patio out back, so there wasn’t really a need to spend money taking down any walls to make it open concept. Rather, we could spend that “wall removal” money on things that really mattered to Matt, like functionality, bad ass appliances, and custom millwork.
Appliances
All of the appliances in this kitchen are top notch! From the refrigerator and double oven with Wi-Fi capabilities to the shockingly powerful (and quiet!) hood vent, each appliance was carefully selected to ensure the best cooking experience. The hood vent and the range are definitely the highlights of the appliance package.
The hood vent SUCKS (get it?). It has a wildly powerful exhaust fan and generates only a small fraction of the noise compared to your standard microhood vent, which is great for being able to have conversations or listen to music while cooking. It also allows Matt to cook with high heat on the stovetop without setting off smoke alarms and keeps the house from having that smokey/greasy smell.
Matt’s old range was electric, which as anybody who knows anything about cooking knows, is inferior to a gas range. Luckily, the house already had a natural gas line ran to it, so we ran a gas pipe over to the range location, hooked up a range with double-oven, power burners, Wi-Fi capability, and all the other bells and whistles. Now he’s cooking with fire!
Cabinets
This should go without saying these days, but all of the cabinets are solid wood construction and have soft-close hinges/slides. Matt chose to go with white upper cabinets and sage green base cabinets. Again, with a focus on functionality, we wanted to make the most out of the cabinet selections. We made sure to take careful inventory of Matt’s kitchen appliances, pots & pans, flatware, cooking utensils, etc. to make sure that we had a cabinet space for everything. This included a trash bin drawer, (2) sets of (3) drawer base cabinets, and a pot & pan cabinet with slide-out shelves. We also built Matt a custom endcap next to the back door for dog treats, dog bags, leashes, and a pair of sneakers.
Countertops
Cooking can really beat up your kitchen. Matt wanted a countertop that would be durable and easy to clean. Enter: matching quartz countertop and backsplash. The quartz will stand up to knives and spills and since we used it as a backsplash… no grout joints to clean! Matt can go ahead and cook up a storm without worrying about damaging his countertops and all he has to do is give them a good wipe down when he’s done.
Details
The “Big 3” of kitchens are definitely appliances, cabinets, and countertops, but the smaller details are what really can make the space enjoyable to be in.
- Custom Millwork: We built custom shelves and windowsills and stained them to match. In addition, the crown molding above the cabinets is custom. This house still has old plaster ceilings, which are far from flat and level. The crown molding was custom fabricated to fit tight to the ceiling.
- Farmhouse Sink: Farmhouse sinks allow for more working space inside the sink.
- Filtered Water Faucet: This was a nice little touch to have right next to the standard faucet. The water comes out much faster than using the water dispenser on a fridge!
We also did some minor electrical work, installed a new floor, new baseboards, and a new rear door on this project. Matt was awesome to work with and we had a great time on this project!
Check out some of the amazing dishes that Matt has been cranking out of his new kitchen!
