A young couple purchases a home, realizing the kitchen is on the list of renovation projects. Life happens and they focus on other areas of the home, making the kitchen all the more difficult to ignore. An older couple realizes their tastes and income have evolved, while their home–and especially the kitchen–has not.
When a kitchen is outdated or doesn’t fit your style, it impacts how you experience the entire home. The flow from the kitchen to other rooms may be off. You may be reluctant to host large gatherings. Finding the right style and overall design can become overwhelming. Will your choices be quickly dated or will the style last? Describing your likes and dislikes to a designer, gathering inspiration from Houzz and Pinterest can be a good start. Here are some pointers on bringing all of those ideas together to create a kitchen design for a space you will enjoy spending time in for years to come.
Taste can change over time and new trends evolve. The past may come back with a twist. Similar to fashion, things that were popular in an earlier era can be trending today.
One way to balance timeless design and attention to current style is to think in terms of what is more permanent and what can be more easily changed. Choose more timeless elements for cabinetry, flooring, and countertops. To add some current flair, choose more custom elements in lighting and plumbing fixtures, paint color, and cabinet hardware which are easier to change as your tastes change.
You may also want to balance personalized touches with design that is ready for resale. Your design-build partner can help choose items like flooring, appliances, and cabinet hardware that you will enjoy now while also showing well if and when you decide to sell your home.
There are also regional differences in design styles to consider. In New England we have urban and suburban differences. Sleek lines and high gloss finishes are more typical of renovations done in the city. Suburban design tends more toward traditional or transitional styles that may combine traditional colonial or farmhouse styles with more contemporary elements.
When a kitchen or other area of the home is not functioning well, the choice is between moving to a new home or renovating the existing home. Finding a new home is time-consuming, and can induce sticker shock. For those who love their neighborhood and have developed roots in a particular New England community, remodeling is a much more attractive option compared with uprooting and searching for a new home that is in budget and meets all your needs.
The ideal kitchen becomes the focal point, improving your enjoyment of the home while also enhancing its value. For more inspiration, here are a few examples of how we have helped clients bring their kitchens from outdated to outstanding.
This Boston-area home was built years ago in the craftsman style. Craftsman exteriors are very popular, but interiors often have smaller, disjointed rooms that don’t work well with 21st century living.
The client came to us with a design background, so aesthetics were an especially important factor in this remodeling project. This was an instance where the family lived with the home for a period of time before tackling the kitchen remodel. It did not work for them. They had the motivation to change their kitchen layout from a function and aesthetic standpoint and decided to move to a light color wood in the cabinets. They also change the functionality of the kitchen.
This renovation was the result of a client needing more from a newer tract-built home where customization had not been an option. They settled for the french country inspired design that came with the house. As the family grew, the need for more cabinet space and a style more their own became a priority.
They replaced smaller cabinets with units that went to the ceiling. We suggested converting an underused bathroom into a walk-in pantry. The prior pantry was then converted to a wet bar for entertaining. A built-in banquette was added in a breakfast nook. We added a coffered ceiling, the kind of design feature that can be expected in a premium-quality home. It brought down the ceiling a bit and warmed up the space.
Sometimes the existing footprint of a kitchen works well, but the materials need to be updated. In this example, old, dated cabinets were replaced with a more contemporary look. While updating appliances, we installed a paneled refrigerator that blended into the new cabinets. They brought in a La Cornue range from France.
While enhancing the kitchen we also refurbished the adjoining living room, including an award-winning fireplace.
Your home tells your story, and the kitchen plays a central role in that story.
While the kitchen is the heart of the home, the design style that speaks to you can be carried throughout the home. By choosing timeless elements and having them flow through the home, you create a cohesion that is the antidote to a more piecemeal, disconnected design that can happen without an overarching plan.
The materials of the home say a lot about the individuals who live there. There are cases where the aesthetic of the home does not match the likes of the occupants. When you were young, maybe you wore clothes given to you that didn’t match your style. As an adult, there is no reason to accept someone else’s hand-me-down kitchen.
Creating a timeless yet up-to-date style of your own is an incredibly rewarding experience. Understanding how to strike that balance, and finding the right design-build partner makes all the difference in the end result.
To learn more about the kitchen renovation process, please read our eBook, “The Kitchen Design Guide for Style, Functionality and Entertaining Joy” And if you are ready to speak about your next renovation, please schedule a home renovation discovery session.