Kitchen of the Week: Deep Green Cabinets Star in 136 Square Feet
Two designers update a Kentucky kitchen with bold cabinets and a more user-friendly layout fit for entertaining
Bobby Clifton and Susan Frockt’s 1905 Foursquare home sits on a hill surrounded by trees in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. The historic home includes lots of great architectural details. But the aging building also came with a closed-off kitchen that needed a serious update for a couple that loves to cook and entertain.
The couple hired sister designers Mary Culbertson and Susan Haggblom, who had previously helped update other spaces in the home, to create a more user-friendly kitchen without adding lots of square footage. The couple used Houzz ideabooks of inspiration photos to help communicate to their designers that they did not want a “basic” kitchen. That resulted in the star of the new kitchen: deep-saturated green cabinets.
The couple hired sister designers Mary Culbertson and Susan Haggblom, who had previously helped update other spaces in the home, to create a more user-friendly kitchen without adding lots of square footage. The couple used Houzz ideabooks of inspiration photos to help communicate to their designers that they did not want a “basic” kitchen. That resulted in the star of the new kitchen: deep-saturated green cabinets.
Before: The existing kitchen, all 128 square feet of it, felt cramped, closed off and dark. A black-and-white marble tile floor didn’t really go with the laminate countertops and low-hanging gray upper cabinets. The stainless steel refrigerator, shoe-horned in to the right of the range, blocked a window, adding to the cramped feeling. “It was so dark,” Culbertson says.
Also notice the oversize frame on the door to the backyard. “The previous owners had blocked off a transom window there, and we reopened that to allow more natural light into the kitchen,” Haggblom says.
Also notice the oversize frame on the door to the backyard. “The previous owners had blocked off a transom window there, and we reopened that to allow more natural light into the kitchen,” Haggblom says.
After: The designers moved the refrigerator to the opposite wall of the kitchen (you can see part of it in the center of this photo), allowing the full light of the window into the kitchen and creating more workspace and storage on each side of the range. “I’m pretty sure we gained around 4 feet of counter space, which was significant,” Frockt says. “The relocation of things just made sense.” (See before and after floor plans below for more layout detail.)
The white door to the right of the bar opens to a half bathroom.
Cabinets: Greenfield Cabinetry; cabinet hardware: Channing pull and Kinney cabinet knob, Top Knobs
The white door to the right of the bar opens to a half bathroom.
Cabinets: Greenfield Cabinetry; cabinet hardware: Channing pull and Kinney cabinet knob, Top Knobs
Before: The couple disliked the white drop-in double-bowl sink, the lip of which they found difficult to keep clean.
Also, notice how the existing microwave hung low over the range. “There was definitely not enough room for two cooks in this kitchen,” Culbertson says. “Bobby just gave up on cooking in that kitchen.”
Also, notice how the existing microwave hung low over the range. “There was definitely not enough room for two cooks in this kitchen,” Culbertson says. “Bobby just gave up on cooking in that kitchen.”
After: The new undermount single-bowl composite sink in a truffle color has clean lines and a large basin that fits pots and baking dishes. The designers moved the location of the microwave from above the range to under the counter in the new bar.
The cabinet color coordinates with touches of green found in the slabs of polished Calacatta Taupe quartzite used for the countertops and backsplash. “[The couple] wanted to keep the budget down, but every time we went to look at slabs their eyes kept going to the quartzite,” Culbertson says. “This was the thing we could design everything around. It’s just stunning.”
Power strips under the cabinets provide outlets without breaking up the slab backsplash.
Composite sink: Precis in Truffle, Blanco
The cabinet color coordinates with touches of green found in the slabs of polished Calacatta Taupe quartzite used for the countertops and backsplash. “[The couple] wanted to keep the budget down, but every time we went to look at slabs their eyes kept going to the quartzite,” Culbertson says. “This was the thing we could design everything around. It’s just stunning.”
Power strips under the cabinets provide outlets without breaking up the slab backsplash.
Composite sink: Precis in Truffle, Blanco
The new cabinets include lots of designated storage, like this tiered spice drawer to the left of the range.
A pullout waste and recycle center under the spice drawer offers a quick way to discard food scraps. “It’s in a really convenient location between the sink and range,” Culbertson says.
A pullout waste and recycle center under the spice drawer offers a quick way to discard food scraps. “It’s in a really convenient location between the sink and range,” Culbertson says.
A knife drawer with interior dividers pulls out to the right of the range. The two drawers below store pots and pans. “Not having a knife block and that added clutter on the counters is great,” Frockt says.
Curved rift-cut white oak floating shelves on the end of the upper cabinets hold cookbooks and collectibles.
Curved rift-cut white oak floating shelves on the end of the upper cabinets hold cookbooks and collectibles.
The couple liked the black-and-marble flooring but thought it looked and felt a little cold. New white-oak hardwood flooring adds a warm touch.
The arc spout faucet combines matte black and knurled brass finishes.
Faucet: Litze, Brizo
Faucet: Litze, Brizo
This view shows the new openness to the dining room on the other side of the new bar peninsula. Drawers on the peninsula store casserole dishes, plastic containers and silverware. “Having it there means people don’t have to come into the cooking area of the kitchen when they need a fork or something,” Frockt says.
The cased opening in the dining room leads to the living room.
The cased opening in the dining room leads to the living room.
A new stainless steel French door refrigerator surrounded by pantry cabinets stands to the left of the peninsula and to the right of the back door, above which the designers added a transom window.
A pullout hides dog bowls for the couple’s golden retrievers. Frockt got the idea from a photo she saw on Houzz. “It’s a solution for tight quarters,” she says.
Frockt says the balls seen in these bowls help ensure the dogs don’t eat their food too quickly.
Frockt says the balls seen in these bowls help ensure the dogs don’t eat their food too quickly.
This wide view from the now adjoining dining room shows the floating wood shelves to the upper right of the bar that offer an easy-access spot for libations. The bar’s beverage refrigerator also helps when the couple entertains. “Susan’s goal with the beverage refrigerator was keeping Bobby’s craft beer collection out of the main refrigerator and kitchen,” Culbertson jokes.
The white door seen on the left of this photo goes down to the basement. The backstairs in this photo lead up to the bedrooms on the second floor.
The white door seen on the left of this photo goes down to the basement. The backstairs in this photo lead up to the bedrooms on the second floor.
This close-up under the bar shows the heavy-cast iron shelf bracket with a plated antique brass finish that went with the style and period of the house. “The geometric shapes worked incredibly well,” Culbertson says.
Two barrel-shaped opal white glass pendants cast a glow over the bar. “We fell in love with the pendant over the dining room table but wanted to do something a bit different and not take away from it,” Culbertson says. “These complemented that light fixture, but didn’t compete.”
Pendants: Zumbia 1, Elk Lighting
Pendants: Zumbia 1, Elk Lighting
“Friends can sit at the bar and be more involved in the actual process when meals are prepared,” Culbertson says. “You can sit, laugh and tell stories right there.”
Before: This floor plan of the existing kitchen shows the wall and door (center) that once separated the kitchen from the dining room (right). “In the kitchen proper, that wall was just useless,” Culbertson says. “You couldn’t do anything with it.”
Also notice how the refrigerator was jammed into the corner (top left) by the range, blocking natural light from the window.
Also notice how the refrigerator was jammed into the corner (top left) by the range, blocking natural light from the window.
After: A new peninsula bar (center) created a more open connection between the kitchen and dining room.
The more user-friendly kitchen layout works for preparing daily meals and hosting dinner parties for friends. “It was important that we stayed with the style of the house but modernized it at the same time,” Frockt says. “I loved to cook before, but it has changed the whole experience. We enjoy spending time in there together now. Bobby’s definitely getting his hands dirty again, which is great.”
More on Houzz
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The more user-friendly kitchen layout works for preparing daily meals and hosting dinner parties for friends. “It was important that we stayed with the style of the house but modernized it at the same time,” Frockt says. “I loved to cook before, but it has changed the whole experience. We enjoy spending time in there together now. Bobby’s definitely getting his hands dirty again, which is great.”
More on Houzz
The Most Popular Styles and Cabinet Choices in Kitchen Remodels
Get more kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer and other professionals
Shop for your kitchen
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Bobby Clifton, Susan Frockt and their two golden retrievers
Location: The historic Cherokee Triangle neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky
Size: 136 square feet with new bar
Designers: Mary Culbertson and Susan Haggblom of Centered Interiors
Builder: Redsmith Construction
The designers removed a wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room, from which this photograph was taken. This design move helped bring sunlight into the kitchen from a window in the dining room and increased the square footage of the kitchen by about 8 square feet.
An inviting bar now sits between the two rooms, where guests can linger and enjoy a glass of Kentucky bourbon while the couple prepares meals.
Semicustom paint-grade maple cabinets go all the way to the ceiling to maximize storage and are painted a rich, deep green color (Foxhall Green, Sherwin-Williams). “They have some nice greenery outside the kitchen you see all year around, so we wanted to bring that green into the kitchen,” Culbertson says.
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