a kitchen makeover for a young growing family

I’m embarking on a bit of catch up with the blog due to an unexpected lapse since my last post - beginning with some updates I’ve posted elsewhere. Starting with a beautiful kitchen makeover for a long time client. We planned an unusually high number of kitchen updates the past couple of years, but this fresh one has made some seriously good progress in its first stage of transformation.

For the owners this new-to-them house represents a move from their first home as newlyweds to family life as busy working parents raising their young family and hosting their extended families. Along with more bedrooms and dedicated home office space, the new house also has an open concept family room and eat in kitchen which they didn’t have in the first house. The kitchen is a hard working kitchen, a hub of daily meals, kids activities and entertaining but also on full view as part of an open concept space so it needs to look great too.

Although the home is not very old we planned cosmetic updates for the whole home including an all new paint palette and upgraded lighting. The kitchen needed a bit more attention to elevate its style and bring the overall aesthetic more in line with a custom build and their own lifestyle.

Without replacing flooring, counters, cabinetry or appliances our aim was to inject the kitchen with a new transitional vibe. First the walls of the open concept space (the kitchen opens to a 2 storey great room) were given a fresh coat of warm white. Next we sourced and selected new hardware, lighting, faucet, new backsplash material, counter stools, and window treatments. Here’s what we envisioned:

Here’s some in-progress snaps of the space after the fixtures and backsplash install, they ended up going with a quartz slab for the backsplash instead of tile. The next stage will include window treatments and new chairs to replace their former dining room chairs being used in the interim.

The saddle leather stools and black pendants add striking contrast and a modern edge. Both will be beautiful compliments to the neutral and earthy palette envisioned for the family room. The red kettle, as beloved as it is unfortunately is not going to get along as well with their family room decor - so it’ll make a move to the family cottage where I imagine it will be perfectly charming addition.

The changes made a significant style impact without the extensive costs, timeline and disruption of replacing the entire kitchen. Nonetheless the updates were still an investment in working with what was there and trusting that the results would make impactful improvements. We sure think its achieved that and more! The owners are beyond thrilled with how much this has transformed a new-to-them-house into a home that they love.