A “Dated” Kitchen Totally Transforms with a Mega Island

Shopping for a house sight unseen is just not with out its dangers, however DIYer Nicole Pankopp (@simplyalignedhome) proved it might completely repay. When Nicole and household purchased their Denver house, they had been residing throughout the nation, and he or she knew she’d need to reimagine a number of the design from afar to make it the guts of the house she envisioned.

“I didn’t really see the home till closing day, so I designed our kitchen renovation primarily based on the itemizing photographs,” she says. “It was a bit dated for our style, and I knew it could require an replace. The unique kitchen was very small with low ceilings. Whereas I don’t like to prepare dinner, I do like to entertain! I wished to create a kitchen that was open and conducive to internet hosting household gatherings.” 

As such, she primarily based her design round having a big island. “As we realized in our earlier house, it doesn’t matter the place you plan for everybody to collect — all of us find yourself hanging out across the kitchen island,” she says.

Earlier than transferring in, Nicole drew up an overview of the kitchen she envisioned, which included that enormous island, a pantry wall, intelligent storage spots, and good concepts for cabinetry, backsplash, and counter tops.

Nicole isn’t any stranger to house initiatives, however she knew she’d need to work with a contractor for a lot of the updates. The contractor eliminated the non-load-bearing partitions, moved the home equipment to suit Nicole’s proposed format, after which repaired the harm from transferring the partitions. When she moved in, the kitchen was a clean slate — prepared for her to make her mark.

Pankopp picked ready-to-assemble backside cupboards in a lightweight grey paint shade that she put collectively herself, and constructed cupboard packing containers and used crimson oak materials for the higher, wall, and island cupboards. She additionally ordered crimson oak shaker cupboard doorways, and stained and sealed them herself. 

“After making an attempt a number of totally different stain mixtures, I got here up with one which softened the crimson undertones of the wooden with out eradicating the heat of the wooden,” she shares. 

Pankopp had her coronary heart set on a darkish stone for the counter tops, however didn’t need it to be polished or pure, as her sons would probably “put it by way of a whole lot of put on and tear.” She chosen a honed quartz countertop paying homage to soapstone for the area. 

As a result of the counter tops and the cabinetry had been darker colours, Nicole wished one thing contrasting for the backsplash. “I selected to stay with a light-colored tile, however I added some depth and dimension with zellige tile,” she explains. 

The kitchen took round 4 months to complete, however it’s now, unsurprisingly, the guts of the house — simply as Nicole initially envisioned. Her favourite a part of the area? The huge island. “Simply as I had hoped, now we have loads of area to congregate after we are entertaining,” she says. “I additionally love seeing the island stuffed with meals! It permits us to have a pleasant unfold of appetizers after we host.”

And the kitchen is equal components beautiful and intensely purposeful. Nicole created an equipment storage with a tambour door to maintain objects like her toaster and mixer off the counters. After transferring the kitchen sink, one other storage hack alternative offered itself. 

“Primarily based on the cupboard format, I had a extremely small opening that might not match a normal cupboard. After contemplating the entire choices, I made a decision to make an outsized serving tray,” Nicole shares. “I like giant serving trays, however they’re tougher to retailer. I made each a customized tray and storage cupboard to retailer it — I completely love the way it turned out, and we use it on a regular basis!” It’s all within the particulars.

To see extra of Nicole’s house, try her front room redo.

This put up initially appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Earlier than & After: A “Cramped” Dated Kitchen Fully Transforms with This Beautiful Mega Island