Take Down The Walls

When’s there’s not enough room with plenty of room, look outside the box.

Project details and links to other projects follow the images.

Take Down the Walls

If you want to discourage friends from gathering around the kitchen, a narrow U-shaped layout can do the trick. Better yet, hang an upper cabinet on a corner where the sharp bottom edge can put out an eye. (The original designer of this kitchen was possibly averse to meal prep companionship…) But times and owners change and it was time for this dated kitchen in an otherwise contemporary home to go away.

There’s not much to be gained in a simple cosmetic redo of an awkward space - especially one wrapped against walls that end in a hallway and block a view. But when that space backs into a mud room and there is space to claim from a five foot wide breezeway…think outside the walls.

Project Profile

  1. Relocate the washer and dryer to an unused room on a lower level.

  2. Demo the existing kitchen and mud room.

  3. Remove the wall between the kitchen & mud room and the wall between the kitchen and the garage. Wall in the larger space & install a door that connects the garage.

  4. Remove the wet bar.

  5. Build a pantry under the entry porch eaves.

  6. Add skylights, new windows, & a door for BBQ access.

  7. New custom slab cabinetry. A Sub-Zero fridge. A commercial range, a second oven, new dishwasher.

  8. Put sink in a large island. Add counter seating.

  9. New lighting. Hardwood flooring. Stone counter & splash.

  10. Entry expanded & dramatized, closet removed.