Large kitchens are always fun to remodel, but do you know that compact kitchens can have the same potential night and day transformations, as well?
You can do so much to improve a small kitchen as you can with an expansive kitchen. All you need is to squeeze your creative juice, and tada! (Not really... of course, you need a realistic budget, too!) Small kitchen remodel doesn't always come cheap. Sometimes, people spend as much in a tiny kitchen as one can in a large kitchen, especially if they do it the right way (meaning, no cutting corners).
I have designed within numerous constrained kitchens, and I had to go back and forth between working outside and inside the box to recreate each room into a more functional space.
Sometimes, working in a tiny kitchen literally means working with the same footprint. Every inch counts in a small kitchen because clients are always longing and desiring for MORE accessible storage and more spacious counter space in such a limited area!
ADVANTAGE OF GUTTING THE ROOM TO THE STUDS. As I have mentioned in my previous blog, it's almost always advantageous to work with a fresh canvas. If you would like to remodel the right way, have your kitchen demolished to the studs and floor and ceiling joists, especially in older homes. This will give you an opportunity to reinforce some old and faulty framework, fix dry rots, run new wires and circuits, upgrade plumbing pipes, add insulation, add blocking, upgrade doors and windows, add new lighting with more flexibility, level the floor, keep everything up to code, and more! This might be more labor and more expensive in cost, but starting on a clean slate will give you peace of mind. Your investment will be worth every penny, as the transformation of the space will definitely enhance and improve your way of living.
In this blog, I would like to use my recently finished small kitchen remodel as an example.
Built in 1957, this1,694 sq.ft. single-family home sits on a 7,400 sq. ft. lot in Sunnyvale, California, and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The U-shaped kitchen is only 9' x 9.8'. With the adjacent dining space, the total area is 256 sq. ft.
My clients are both retired, and they plan to age in this home where they have lived for more than 30 years. The wife loves to cook and bake, and the husband's role is to do the cleanup. They also occasionally entertain.
Here are some of their kitchen remodel "must-have" list:
Replace window on existing location.
Change all appliances. Replace top mount induction cooktop into a flush mount cooktop. Keep the oven in the tall cabinet to avoid bending.
Update existing framed thermofoil cabinets with wood-stained cabinets.
Replace Corian countertops with a more heat resistant material.
Replace linoleum floors with a more durable and aesthetically-pleasing floor material. Level the floor.
Create more functional storage spaces. Utilize inaccessible base and wall corners.
Create more counter space for landing and prep areas.
Keep the location of the existing kitchen recessed lightings. Make the kitchen and dining area brighter, and use the same color temperature on all fixtures for consistency of light rendering.
Surfaces should be easy to maintain and clean.
Materials, appliances, and finishes should be durable and long-lasting.
The overall design must have a transitional style.
As a designer and a Design-Build Manager, I take care of my clients from concept to completion.
Meaning, I am their main contact person from the moment they stepped in our showroom until all the punch lists are checked off to make sure they are happy, satisfied, and move-in ready. I design their kitchen by: space planning, specifying materials, appliances, and finishes, pricing and purchasing all materials and finishes, generating construction and cabinet order drawings, producing contracts, submitting permit applications, coordinating with installers and laborers, overseeing the construction projects, and making sure that the design and quality of craftsmanship are executed as planned and expected by the clients. I communicate with the clients and our crew on a daily basis, and I visit the job site every week to keep track of the progress.
In this particular remodel, like most of my projects, we demolished the kitchen walls and kitchen/dining area floors to the studs and subfloor. The ceiling and dining room walls were retained to reduce the cost of the project.
Here are some before/after drawings and photos:
Click the arrow to slide the images.
Existing and Proposed Kitchen and Dining Area Floorplans
BEFORE. As you can see, the existing kitchen's finishes (vinyl flooring, cabinet finish, countertop, and wall paint) were monochromatic. The appliances were also in different finishes, black and stainless steel.
The framed thermofoil cabinets were space inefficient and were also falling apart. The existing free-standing refrigerator sticks out too much, and with the microwave on the countertop, there's not a lot of room for prep space proximal to the sink and cooktop. The dishwasher opens up in front of the cooking space, which makes the area more crowded than what it was.
The Corian (acrylic-based) countertop had cracks and damages because of heavy kitchen use.
AFTER. In the new design, the contrast between the cabinet's finish and the light engineered quartz countertop creates an interest in the space. The cherry wood's stain brings in warmth and coziness. The new warm gray Luxury Vinyl flooring and wall paint color balance the contrast between the dark wood and light countertop. With the new stainless steel appliances and cabinet hardware, there now a cohesiveness in the space. We selected a semi-built-in refrigerator (which is enclosed between 2 panels) that is both tall and counter-depth, so even though it is shallower, the height compensates for the interior space. Food is more accessible and visible with this size of a refrigerator. The new dishwasher, with an integrated handle, is relocated to the left of the sink to free-up space in front of the cooktop. A new speed oven (an upgrade to a countertop microwave) is installed on top of a new convection oven to create a counter space to the right corner of the sink.
The countertop and the full splash were replaced with new engineered quartz, which is easier to maintain, more durable, scratch-resistant, and heat resistant than Corian.
The old window was replaced with a new energy-efficient dual-pane window in the same location.
Proposed Elevations
AFTER. The wall corners are now utilized by adding 2 L-shaped wall cabinets that are fully accessible, 1 L-shaped base with wooden rotating Lazy Suzans, and 1 blind corner base with swing-out Lemans.
AFTER. By adding a 3/4" thick panel on each side of the new refrigerator, space looks more finished. The cooking sheets, wire racks, and cutting boards were re-homed to a new designated base cabinet with a tray divider. As you can see, in the second slide, a silverware divider was added in the drawer for organization purposes. The last photo shows a low countertop splash on the wood panel to the right of the refrigerator to protect the finish from being damaged.
BEFORE. In this existing photo, there was not enough landing space to the left of the oven or to the right of the cooktop. The existing ventilation hood was mounted too low that it made it very awkward to cook in front of it. The clients had to dock their heads in order to see the cooking space better. There was also a weird little filler to the right of the hood which makes it look unappealing.
AFTER. By moving the new flushed mounted induction cooktop to the left, it created an 11- 1/2" wide counter space between the cooktop and the speed oven/convection oven. This new space makes a big difference! With the new Contemporary Wolf induction cooktop's flush installation, a bonus continuous counter space is also added!
The new and more efficient under cabinet hood is installed higher to create more headroom in front of the cooking area. These few inches create a more spacious feel and are definitely a game-changer. Remember, every inch counts in a small kitchen!
AFTER. A variety of cabinet accessories were incorporated into the design to organize the stored items in each cabinet. (To the left) A spice insert was added on the top drawer, proximal to the cooking area. (Middle) The top cabinet above the speed oven includes removable tray dividers for deeper and taller items. (Right) the 6" base filler space to the right of the sink features narrow stainless steel pull out to store cleaning supplies.
AFTER. The new small curved-back granite-composite single bowl sink is more durable, spacious, and continuous with the countertop color. An air switch for the garbage disposer was installed on the countertop close to the sink, which is an easier reach than the old wall switch. The faucet is a single lever gooseneck design which is ergonomic. The projection of this faucet was planned and selected carefully, so the water falls directly and exactly on the drain to avoid splashing.
The sink base cabinet was ordered with a stainless steel bottom for additional water- leaking protection.
BEFORE. The old kitchen had a framed cabinet construction which lost about 3" space per cabinet. There were also more cabinets with doors than drawers. The old rollouts were not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the items stored on it.
AFTER. During the design process, I took inventory of what was stored in the kitchen. This allowed me to plan and design the sizes and types of cabinets. I specified diversified cabinet configurations to store a variety of items considering size, shape, weight, quantity, and volume. As you can see in the right photo, I changed the base cooktop cabinet into 2 deep drawers, and I upgraded them into heavy-duty guides to safely store pots and pans. The bottom drawers of the tall oven cabinet were also ordered with upgraded heavy-duty guides. I specified a narrow 4-drawer base to store a variety of smaller items to the right of the base cooktop.
BEFORE. In the old kitchen (as in many kitchens), the top of the refrigerator became a cluttered eye-sore spot because the cabinet above it is inconvenient to access.
AFTER. With the new design, the top cabinet is deep enough to align with the front of the refrigerator for accessibility. The new semi-built-in refrigerator was designed carefully, following the manufacturer's specifications which allows proper ventilation at the back and on top of the refrigerator (photo will be added soon).
AFTER. Because of the sloped ceiling restrictions, a creative solution must be implemented to illuminate the space. The dark and gloomy dining area is now brightened by a variety of lighting solutions: adding two new recessed lightings and a wall sconce and replacing the pendant lighting with an adjustable 4-head LED track lighting. As you can see on the Proposed Electrical Lighting below, I also added LED under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. All of these light fixtures were specified in 3000K for color rendering consistency. The 6 existing kitchen LED recessed lighting was changed from 2700K to 3000K on the same location, as requested by the clients.
Proposed Electrical Plan
Upon the completion of this project, the satisfied clients reclaimed their space back with ease, comfort, and an improved way of life.
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