Kitchen of the Week: Remodel Spurs a New First-Floor Layout
A designer creates a more workable kitchen for a food blogger while improving its connection to surrounding spaces
This kitchen is not only where Anna Schaber feeds her family of four, but it’s also where she works. The Garnish With Lemon food blogger’s former kitchen didn’t show off her creations in their best light, so the renovations needed to turn it into a proper food laboratory and photo studio as well as an attractive heart of the home.
“In addition to a small and dark kitchen with limited storage, they had a small living room and a small family room that were not very functional, a small mudroom-laundry, an eat-in space and a dining room that was rarely used,” says interior designer Shelly Lindstrom. “Overall there was a lot of space on the first floor, but the way it was divided into rooms was not very functional.” Lindstrom worked on the project with Carrie Steiger, her Fluidesign Studio colleague, and Josh Loewen of Dependable Builders.
“In addition to a small and dark kitchen with limited storage, they had a small living room and a small family room that were not very functional, a small mudroom-laundry, an eat-in space and a dining room that was rarely used,” says interior designer Shelly Lindstrom. “Overall there was a lot of space on the first floor, but the way it was divided into rooms was not very functional.” Lindstrom worked on the project with Carrie Steiger, her Fluidesign Studio colleague, and Josh Loewen of Dependable Builders.
Transitional Style With a Touch of Midcentury Modern
Lindstrom had her client gather inspiration photos of kitchens she liked in Houzz ideabooks. “I always tell my clients not to worry about defining their style because I’ll be able to see the threads between their inspiration photos,” she says. In this case, she found out that her client gravitated toward midcentury modern-meets-transitional designs and two-tone cabinetry.
Nods to midcentury modern style include the gorgeous walnut on the island and counter stools. The simple elongated subway tile and the white upper cabinets make the wood of the island stand out, providing this pleasing view from the dining room.
Browse high-back counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Lindstrom had her client gather inspiration photos of kitchens she liked in Houzz ideabooks. “I always tell my clients not to worry about defining their style because I’ll be able to see the threads between their inspiration photos,” she says. In this case, she found out that her client gravitated toward midcentury modern-meets-transitional designs and two-tone cabinetry.
Nods to midcentury modern style include the gorgeous walnut on the island and counter stools. The simple elongated subway tile and the white upper cabinets make the wood of the island stand out, providing this pleasing view from the dining room.
Browse high-back counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Must-haves included two wall ovens, an induction stove and lots of good lighting for food photography. The new kitchen has a traditional work triangle with the island in the center. Lindstrom balanced the larger appliances — the double wall ovens and the fridge — by placing them diagonally across the island from one another. The sink has plenty of prep space on both sides, with the dishwasher to the right and the trash pullout to the left.
The designers made sure there was plenty of space for the whole family to eat breakfast and lunch at the 9-by-3-foot island. “The space was long and narrow, so we placed seating around one end to keep the arrangement more intimate for conversation,” Lindstrom says. She also set it up with traffic patterns in mind — people can walk from one room to the next, grab a drink from the fridge, walk out to the patio or belly up to the island without ever getting in the cook’s way.
A drink station to the right of the fridge is also easy to access and conveniently located to the island, living room and patio.
Paint: Kendall Charcoal (base cabinets) and Chantilly Lace (upper cabinets), Benjamin Moore
The designers made sure there was plenty of space for the whole family to eat breakfast and lunch at the 9-by-3-foot island. “The space was long and narrow, so we placed seating around one end to keep the arrangement more intimate for conversation,” Lindstrom says. She also set it up with traffic patterns in mind — people can walk from one room to the next, grab a drink from the fridge, walk out to the patio or belly up to the island without ever getting in the cook’s way.
A drink station to the right of the fridge is also easy to access and conveniently located to the island, living room and patio.
Paint: Kendall Charcoal (base cabinets) and Chantilly Lace (upper cabinets), Benjamin Moore
The island serves as a central anchor that makes prep easy. It contains the microwave, outlets and scads of storage. Two pendant lights with metal shades add modern industrial flair and provide nice lighting for food photography.
The countertop is an engineered quartz that looks like marble. “One way to save money is to shop around for quartz — some brands are less expensive than others,” Lindstrom says. “It also helped to use the same quartz on the perimeter and the island because it meant we needed to buy fewer slabs than if we’d used two different materials.”
Shop for one-light pendants on Houzz
The countertop is an engineered quartz that looks like marble. “One way to save money is to shop around for quartz — some brands are less expensive than others,” Lindstrom says. “It also helped to use the same quartz on the perimeter and the island because it meant we needed to buy fewer slabs than if we’d used two different materials.”
Shop for one-light pendants on Houzz
A Better Connected First Floor
Before: The relationships between the kitchen and the other rooms drove the renovation. Originally the kitchen was in the back center, with a rarely used dining room to the left and a rarely used living room below that. “Because it was sort of wedged back there in the middle, the kitchen did not get good natural light,” Lindstrom says. To the right of the kitchen was some wasted space in front of the patio doors, and beyond that was a mudroom.
Before: The relationships between the kitchen and the other rooms drove the renovation. Originally the kitchen was in the back center, with a rarely used dining room to the left and a rarely used living room below that. “Because it was sort of wedged back there in the middle, the kitchen did not get good natural light,” Lindstrom says. To the right of the kitchen was some wasted space in front of the patio doors, and beyond that was a mudroom.
After: Lindstrom extended the kitchen to the left into the former dining room. She moved the dining space into the former living room (bottom left), keeping it open to the kitchen so that it would get more use. To the right of the kitchen, she placed a large living room. Now there is an easy flow between the dining room, kitchen, living room and patio.
The new layout creates strong connections between the spaces, as does consistent millwork and material and color palettes. Lindstrom was able to save much of the home’s original red oak floors, lacing in new pieces where needed and then sanding and staining the floorboards to match. She created visual separation with stained wood posts and beams.
Because the kitchen and dining rooms flow together so well, the family uses the new dining room daily. And the table is a good spot for the food blogger to open up the new kitchen product packages that she receives for testing.
Because the kitchen and dining rooms flow together so well, the family uses the new dining room daily. And the table is a good spot for the food blogger to open up the new kitchen product packages that she receives for testing.
The calm, neutral color palette continues into the dining room. The chandelier’s metal ties in nicely with the kitchen’s metal pendants.
Metal and wood accents also continue into the living room. The new built-in walnut media console matches the kitchen island. Lindstrom balanced the splurge on walnut by using less expensive poplar on the new fireplace surround and staining it dark.
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See more photos of this home
More on Houzz
Browse other photos of transitional kitchens
Find a local kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen and dining products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Anna and Pat Schaber and their two sons
Location: Eagan, Minnesota
Size: 251 square feet (23 square meters)
Designer: Shelly Lindstrom and Carrie Steiger of Fluidesign Studio
The new kitchen is in a new spot— instead of adding onto the house to gain space in the kitchen, however, Lindstrom reconfigured the layout of the first floor.
“We like to try to stay within the footprint of the existing home when remodeling, only considering an addition as a last alternative,” Lindstrom says. “Our goal is always to get the most bang for our homeowner’s buck, and we feel this is the best way to achieve that. By reconfiguring the spaces, we were able to give [the homeowners] better flow and functionality in all the spaces.”
We’ll explore how the new first-floor plan works in a moment, but first let’s get to know the new kitchen.
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