Kitchen of the Week: Zones Work Best for This Busy Family
Stations for food and beverages — as well as prep, cooking and cleanup — keep chaos at bay in a Colorado kitchen
A confluence of events prompted the full renovation of this 1980s kitchen in Littleton, Colorado. The homeowner, a mother of two high schoolers, needed to replace some major appliances about the same time she got a gander at her neighbor’s open-concept kitchen renovation. She realized that she too wanted an open layout — one that would work for her family, provide more storage and update the room’s look.
Before: At about 150 square feet, the kitchen was generously sized, but the finishes and walls made it feel closed in and cut off from the rest of the house. There was a low pass-through between the kitchen and the dining room and an eat-in area that the homeowners were not interested in keeping. The oak cabinets and the burgundy walls and countertops made it dark. And the lack of any type of pantry did not meet the family’s storage needs.
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Layout Strategy and Architectural Changes
Replacing the wall between the dining room and the kitchen with a peninsula was the most impactful change. This allows the kitchen to enjoy light from adjacent rooms, makes the family feel more connected, creates a buffet serving space for the dining room and provides a breakfast bar that is out of the cook’s way.
Back to that morning chaos — the old kitchen was most dysfunctional at breakfast time. “They were always in a hurry and in each other’s way in here,” Spinosi says. They needed her help to figure out how they could be microwaving, toasting, making a smoothie or coffee and cleaning up after themselves without bumping into one another. This tipped her off: Instead of a work triangle, they needed a zoned layout.
The peninsula provides an eat-in area and prep space. The area to the right is the cooking and small appliance zone. The hutch-like cabinet in the center of the back wall is where they grab china; it makes for a pretty view from the dining room. To the left of that is the beverage and food station, which includes the refrigerator, coffee station, microwave and wine fridge. There’s also a wide path from the dining room to the beverage zone — this keeps traffic away from the prep, cooking and cleanup stations.
Karin pendant lights: Hudson Valley Lighting
Replacing the wall between the dining room and the kitchen with a peninsula was the most impactful change. This allows the kitchen to enjoy light from adjacent rooms, makes the family feel more connected, creates a buffet serving space for the dining room and provides a breakfast bar that is out of the cook’s way.
Back to that morning chaos — the old kitchen was most dysfunctional at breakfast time. “They were always in a hurry and in each other’s way in here,” Spinosi says. They needed her help to figure out how they could be microwaving, toasting, making a smoothie or coffee and cleaning up after themselves without bumping into one another. This tipped her off: Instead of a work triangle, they needed a zoned layout.
The peninsula provides an eat-in area and prep space. The area to the right is the cooking and small appliance zone. The hutch-like cabinet in the center of the back wall is where they grab china; it makes for a pretty view from the dining room. To the left of that is the beverage and food station, which includes the refrigerator, coffee station, microwave and wine fridge. There’s also a wide path from the dining room to the beverage zone — this keeps traffic away from the prep, cooking and cleanup stations.
Karin pendant lights: Hudson Valley Lighting
Dishwashing and Prep Zone
The peninsula includes a farmhouse sink, dishwasher and trash pullout. It serves as a social area, serving area and prep station close to the range.
The countertop cabinets just past the sink contain a garage for small appliances complete with a plug for the smoothie maker, mixer, food processor and toaster.
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The peninsula includes a farmhouse sink, dishwasher and trash pullout. It serves as a social area, serving area and prep station close to the range.
The countertop cabinets just past the sink contain a garage for small appliances complete with a plug for the smoothie maker, mixer, food processor and toaster.
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Cooking Zone
The range is at the far end of the kitchen, which gives the cook a lot of room to move around. Although the range is across the room from the refrigerator, the peninsula makes a good spot for dropping off items for prep. And people can get to and from the fridge without getting in the cook’s way.
The jury’s still out on whether or not more cooking is going on now that the homeowner has a kitchen she likes spending time in. But Spinosi designed it not only to encourage the current owner’s culinary efforts, but also to suit potential buyers down the road. She designated cabinetry close to the range for oils, herbs, spices, cooking utensils and pots and pans. And the appliance garage provides space nearby for a range of small appliances any cook would need when whipping up something delicious.
The range is at the far end of the kitchen, which gives the cook a lot of room to move around. Although the range is across the room from the refrigerator, the peninsula makes a good spot for dropping off items for prep. And people can get to and from the fridge without getting in the cook’s way.
The jury’s still out on whether or not more cooking is going on now that the homeowner has a kitchen she likes spending time in. But Spinosi designed it not only to encourage the current owner’s culinary efforts, but also to suit potential buyers down the road. She designated cabinetry close to the range for oils, herbs, spices, cooking utensils and pots and pans. And the appliance garage provides space nearby for a range of small appliances any cook would need when whipping up something delicious.
The hutch-like cabinetry on the left provides a central space for everyday china, Tupperware and additional pots and pans. Its location right across from the dishwasher makes unloading easy.
Shaker-style cabinets in Linen White: Waypoint Living Spaces
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Shaker-style cabinets in Linen White: Waypoint Living Spaces
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Food and Beverage Zone
Before: “This kitchen table worked well when the kids were little, but everyone in this family is tall, and they were having trouble all fitting comfortably around it,” Spinosi says. “And one person with a laptop and work spread out would take up the entire table.”
Another thing they were ready to lose was the window behind the table, which provided a view only of the siding in their recessed front entryway. “This is a neighborhood where people tend to drop by all the time. My client told me she’d about jump out of her skin whenever she was sitting here and looked up to see a person standing there,” Spinosi says. Walling it up was relatively easy in this spot — the siding outside was easily matched and it was a small wall to paint.
Before: “This kitchen table worked well when the kids were little, but everyone in this family is tall, and they were having trouble all fitting comfortably around it,” Spinosi says. “And one person with a laptop and work spread out would take up the entire table.”
Another thing they were ready to lose was the window behind the table, which provided a view only of the siding in their recessed front entryway. “This is a neighborhood where people tend to drop by all the time. My client told me she’d about jump out of her skin whenever she was sitting here and looked up to see a person standing there,” Spinosi says. Walling it up was relatively easy in this spot — the siding outside was easily matched and it was a small wall to paint.
Losing the eat-in area and the window to create this food and beverage zone was a good decision for the family. The refrigerator is surrounded with storage, including a large pantry cabinet outfitted with rollout drawers. The zone also includes a coffee station, wine fridge and microwave drawer while leaving enough room for storing drinking glasses, opening bottles and loading the coffee maker. Everything is out of the way of the range and the sink, which helps the traffic flow, especially during hectic weekday mornings.
Spinosi placed a Lazy Susan in the corner and a narrow cabinet to the right of the wine fridge for vertical storage.
“I try to incorporate one of these for storing trays, baking sheets and cutting boards vertically in every kitchen I can. It makes it so much easier than digging through a stack,” she says.
Foolproof Storage Solutions for Corner Kitchen Cabinets
“I try to incorporate one of these for storing trays, baking sheets and cutting boards vertically in every kitchen I can. It makes it so much easier than digging through a stack,” she says.
Foolproof Storage Solutions for Corner Kitchen Cabinets
The other large window along the front of the house was a keeper, and the height of the new countertop inspired a clever solution. “Installing a window that met the countertop here would have been way more complicated and expensive than walling the other window over was. It would have meant replacing the window, reframing and painting that entire side of the house,” she says.
Instead she created a window well behind the counter where herbs could thrive in the sunlight. She covered the surface in matching quartz to stand up to any dampness from watering the plants. The savings meant that her client could splurge on a wine fridge she really wanted. “She loves to have her friends over for a glass of wine,” the designer says.
Instead she created a window well behind the counter where herbs could thrive in the sunlight. She covered the surface in matching quartz to stand up to any dampness from watering the plants. The savings meant that her client could splurge on a wine fridge she really wanted. “She loves to have her friends over for a glass of wine,” the designer says.
Finishes
Now that we have the zones mapped out, let’s talk about style and finishes. To inject the space with personality and keep it from skewing too sterile, Spinosi added color, pattern and texture. She knew that a good spot to work in the liveliest pattern and color was on the range backsplash. She chose an encaustic cement tile from The Tile Shop that is sealed to withstand splatter.
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Now that we have the zones mapped out, let’s talk about style and finishes. To inject the space with personality and keep it from skewing too sterile, Spinosi added color, pattern and texture. She knew that a good spot to work in the liveliest pattern and color was on the range backsplash. She chose an encaustic cement tile from The Tile Shop that is sealed to withstand splatter.
Shop for cement tile
Spinosi used rustic reclaimed barn wood to frame the window and denote the food and beverage zone. It provides a warm Rocky Mountain-style counterpoint to the lively blue backsplash tile and the crisp white cabinetry. Glass-and-brass pendant lights keep the space feeling light and open.
The countertops are Carrara quartz by Pental Surfaces. “Carrara has a pattern that provides nuanced texture and movement. We had a lot of countertop space to cover, and something with more prominent veining would have overwhelmed the backsplash tile,” Spinosi says.
“One thing my client knew from the start was that she loved brass,” she says. The brass finishes on the hardware, faucet and light fixtures put the “chic” in “casual chic.”
Blackrock cabinet pulls in Golden Champagne: Amerock
“One thing my client knew from the start was that she loved brass,” she says. The brass finishes on the hardware, faucet and light fixtures put the “chic” in “casual chic.”
Blackrock cabinet pulls in Golden Champagne: Amerock
Stools with brass bases and faux leather upholstery continue the kitchen’s texture story in the dining room space.
There’s another neat trick out here: Spinosa added a cabinet on this side (on the kitchen side, it would have been a dead corner anyway). A cabinet like this is great for linens and serving pieces that aren’t used every day. And this family finds it useful for storing extra pet things for the dog and cat.
“My client was over the carpeting and tile on the main floor,” Spinosi says. Although the client liked the look of hardwood, it would not have withstood the wear and tear from snowy boots, sports equipment and the Great Dane. And installing hardwood throughout the first floor would have been pricey. Instead the designer found a water-resistant laminate flooring that looks like wood. “This flooring can take a beating, and it will never have to be resealed,” she says. In addition to its low-maintenance durability, it’s also softer on the feet, thanks to a cork underlayment.
Browse laminate flooring options in the Houzz Shop
There’s another neat trick out here: Spinosa added a cabinet on this side (on the kitchen side, it would have been a dead corner anyway). A cabinet like this is great for linens and serving pieces that aren’t used every day. And this family finds it useful for storing extra pet things for the dog and cat.
“My client was over the carpeting and tile on the main floor,” Spinosi says. Although the client liked the look of hardwood, it would not have withstood the wear and tear from snowy boots, sports equipment and the Great Dane. And installing hardwood throughout the first floor would have been pricey. Instead the designer found a water-resistant laminate flooring that looks like wood. “This flooring can take a beating, and it will never have to be resealed,” she says. In addition to its low-maintenance durability, it’s also softer on the feet, thanks to a cork underlayment.
Browse laminate flooring options in the Houzz Shop
The floor plan shows the dining room on the left and the kitchen on the right. The opening into the kitchen is wider and now provides sightlines through to the family room (off the top of the page past the staircase).
Takeaways
Learn about zoned kitchen layouts
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Takeaways
- Add personality to an all-white kitchen with color and pattern.
- Talk to your designer about how your family functions in the kitchen throughout the day so that he or she can figure out the best layout for your lifestyle.
- Check out Spinosi’s window well trick to see how you might be able to work with an existing window that dips below a countertop.
- Make sure encaustic cement tile is well-sealed when used on a backsplash (various sealants will need to be reapplied at different intervals).
- Consider durable laminate flooring, which can lend the look of hardwood but stand up to heavy use, large dogs and snowy weather.
Learn about zoned kitchen layouts
Find a kitchen remodeler
Shop for your kitchen project
Kitchen of the Week
Who lives here: A mother, her two teens, a Great Dane and a cat
Location: Littleton, Colorado
Size: About 150 square feet (14 square meters)
Designer: Faris Spinosi of TVL Creative
Chaotic mornings inspired the new layout. No one in the family cooked much, but only time will tell whether that’s because everyone hated hanging out in the dark, closed-off kitchen or because they were never going to do a lot of cooking anyway. “Because she knew she’d likely be downsizing after her kids graduated in a few years, we also kept the appeal for potential buyers who cook a lot in mind when designing it,” says Faris Spinosi, lead designer of design-build firm TVL Creative.
To convey the look that she wanted, the homeowner showed the designer kitchen inspiration photos on Houzz. “She wanted it to be sophisticated but also reflect her family’s fun personalities,” Spinosi says. “She showed me photos of all-white kitchens she liked and told me, ‘Like this but not so sterile.’ I would call her style casual-chic.”
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