The Power of Before and After

We just photographed a client’s kitchen that Chuck renovated. I love how the space turned out. Notice the two different colors of cabinets and quartz countertops? It’s one of Chuck’s signature touches, and it adds a lot of visual interest so everything isn’t one note. The white upper cabinets, subway tile backsplash and bank of windows over the apron front sink really brightens the room too.

Here’s what it looked like before. The old upper cabinets and peninsula boxed the space in, and see the door placement? Chuck removed the door, installed three windows in place of two, and put in new French doors (just to the right of the picture above) to bring in even more light. Moving the door also allowed more room for countertops and lower cabinets along the wall.

Here’s another view of the new kitchen. I love the nook for cookbooks.

And another kitchen view. The new island in place of the peninsula gives the kitchen even more storage and work space, and also encourages movement around the entire kitchen. It’s an inviting space where people can gather and make memories.

The Power of Before and After

It’s fun to look at old photos of our house, before it was renovated. Here’s the space that’s now our dining room on December 6, 2012. Yes, this used to be a place where people cooked food. Gee, I have no idea why the house fell out of escrow twice before we came along. No, not scary at all…

We closed on December 31, 2012, and started work immediately. Here it is on February 6, after demolition and all-new plumbing and wiring.

There was nothing salvageable, including the old linoleum floor, which Chuck ripped up with the help of a friend’s BFT (otherwise known as the Big F****** Tool), a giant iron pry bar that looks like it was passed down over generations since the Viking era.

By February 8, new oak hardwood was down, matching original 1955 hardwood throughout the rest of the house.

On February 26, new cabinets went in, followed by a beverage fridge.

By March 9, we were moved in, but still hadn’t put away all of our stuff. The cabinets were still missing the quartz countertop.

And here is the finished product, completed in June 2013! It was a ton of work, but we love our dining room.

 

 

 

Our Kitchen Is Done!

Chuck has finished all of the little projects in our kitchen, and it looks amazing. I love this view into the living room. This used to be a dark bedroom, but with a beam to support the load of the roof we could open the wall. I also love the play of colors and textures. The pale gray walls, quartz countertop and airy blue backsplash in the kitchen coordinate with the soft green walls and gleaming white stone in the living room.

Here’s another view. Notice how Chuck also mixed colors of cabinets, with dark lower cabinets along the walls, and white cabinets on the upper level and island. The ultra-durable Compac quartz countertops installed by our friends at Pyramid Marble Tile and Masonry are gorgeous and will keep their good looks for many years to come.

I love the big section of backsplash tile on this wall. The blue glass also plays off the blue in the pendant lights. And notice the trim around the microwave to give it that built-in look.

Here are the “before” pictures. Who would have thought this drab space could turn into such a bright, airy kitchen?

 

 

Kitchen Photos

I haven’t posted any pictures of the finished kitchen. Here it is. It’s a beautiful space to work, watch the ocean, and enjoy life.

And here’s the other side. I love the tile backsplash and the contrast of dark and light cabinets.

 

A (Dining) Room With A View

The dining room is next. This view was never properly taken advantage of before, as this room used to share a teensy kitchen and a passage to the bedroom area. Now the space is a dedicated dining room that doesn’t have to share with other rooms.

Here’s the old layout. The orange lines indicate walls that used to exist but have been partially or fully removed.

 

And here’s the new layout.

 

The new cabinets from Chuck’s C W Quinn Home showroom add lots of storage, including a beverage fridge. A countertop will soon replace the clutter on top.

And here’s another ocean view. Goes great with dinner!

 

Our Kitchen Is Coming Together

The interior walls of the kitchen are finally done! We can now start installing the cabinets. It’s been a ton of work transforming this cramped, dark bedroom into a dramatic space. It now has a 9 to 10 foot sloped ceiling, support beams that allow an opening into the ocean view living room, and a sliding glass door. To recap, here’s the before and after.

AFTER: We added nearly two feet of ceiling height to 10 feet. The view through the sliding door will be screened by a redwood fence.

BEFORE: this was the former owners’ furniture, NOT ours. Note the lower ceilings and small windows.

AFTER: The former closet has become a niche for the range, vent hood and cabinets. Again, our neighbor’s driveway will not be visible after the fence goes up.

BEFORE: The range and vent hood are now where this closet used to be.

AFTER: The tall opening on the right is to the dining room, and the left passage goes to the bedrooms. The ceiling on this side has been bumped up to 9 feet from the original 8 feet.

BEFORE: The door opened onto a dark hall, with a narrow passage into a kitchen that was closed off from the rest of the house.

Color Scheme Preview

And now for a preview of our color scheme. Our views are of ocean, hills, and sky so we’re going with watery cool blues and grays in the tiles, paint color, wallpaper and countertops. The wood tones in the original hardwood floors and new cabinets, along with some accent wallpaper will warm it up. We’re getting the cabinets and countertops from Chuck’s C W Quinn Home showroom in San Luis Obispo, of course. It’s very convenient to be married to a kitchen and bath designer for a project of this scope.