Creating a Beautiful Kitchen Design On A Budget

03 Nov Creating a Beautiful Kitchen Design On A Budget

There are lots of ways to create a great look while paying attention to the bottom line. My clients were very excited at the thought of giving their home a major face lift but definitely had a number they felt comfortable spending to complete the project. The goal was to transform its traditional style to a brighter, lighter, more contemporary look. Though there were lots of decisions to make, the kitchen design was the most challenging. Kitchen remodels are always a pricey proposition, so I had to get creative to change the look of the space while leaving money in the budget for the other areas we wanted to tackle.

My clients entertain often, so their new kitchen design had to support that need. The space includes a hearth room and has been where guests tended to congregate. Before the room looked heavy and dark, with wood stain cabinets, black counter tops, and oversized dark-colored furniture. The angled two-tiered island stuck out into the space and was not user-friendly when it came to laying out food and drinks for a party.

After talking about costs and what design elements were most important to them, my clients and I decided to leave most of the kitchen intact, keeping most of the original perimeter cabinets with a few minor tweaks and then painting them. We also kept the perimeter counter tops and double ovens, but replaced the rest of the appliances and the two-tiered island, which became the big transformative element. Changing the weird shape of the island opened the space, and the new single level top provided more space for serving and working. I found an amazing slab of granite for the island that is much lighter and has a lot of movement to it to brighten the space and create interest.

The new pendant lights and backsplash tile add a modern touch as well as some bling. I chose the new pendant lights for their polished nickel finish and the way the shape helped pull in the arch over the cook top, a traditional element in the kitchen that we decided could stay. The glass backsplash tile does a great job of adding some texture and pulling all the shades of gray we used together.

Lighting was an big issue. The kitchen was dark; original fixtures and recessed cans would not work with the new island. We decided to spend a fair amount on reworking the existing electrical plan. It was also important to my clients to start making the transition to LED fixtures.  Since we had gotten rid of a kitchen table and extended the island, I took out the chandelier and added recessed cans. We also added LED under-cabinet tape which creates great task lighting as well as being dimmable for ambient lighting.  The pendants were a great find and really pulled the new lighting plan together.

The last big design decision was to eliminate the textured walls. It was an extremely dated look and was a far cry from the modern one we were trying to achieve. We skim coated the walls before painting them, and though this is messy project it was well worth the money spent.

The kitchen was one of the rooms that went through the biggest transformation. We were able to accomplish striking changes without completely gutting the space. It is a good example of tackling a project creatively with fantastic results.