META 2008 Award Winner – Residential Kitchen $60,000 - $100,000

Award Entry Description:
The customers wanted to update and enhance their outdated kitchen and adjacent wet bar. The large kitchen was on one end of a large family room but the 90” dropped ceiling and soffits made the room seem smaller. Their existing “builder special” oak cabinets were showing wear and tear and sandwiched the door to the adjoining dining area between the oven and refrigerator. Fluorescent lights in a recessed well centered over the kitchen floor meant a shadow was cast over every task performed on a countertop.

Before remodel showing kitchen and bar areas.

The customer wanted to retain their refrigerator and cook top, but would get a new hood over the range, and a new double oven. They also wanted to add a wine cooler in the bar area.
The new design lifted the ceiling to 8’ and expanded the countertop space, while adding better storage and lighting. The sense of spaciousness was enhanced with cabinets on the far wall spaced 6” from the ceiling. Moving the double oven to the other end of the kitchen and placing a 27” wide countertop with a microwave shelf next to the refrigerator removed the tunnel-like access from the adjoining dining area while providing more counter space near the cook top. Shortening the peninsula increased the aisle space near the pantry and refrigerator.

Energy efficient fluorescent indirect lighting was installed above the lowered wall cabinets while 26 watt compact fluorescent down lights positioned above the countertops provides the principal kitchen lighting. Under-cabinet low voltage xenon lights added dual-function task & accent lighting. Each lighting function is independently switched from both kitchen entry points. Recessed halogen lights were positioned over the breakfast area controlled by a dimmer switch.

The new cabinets are Nutmeg Cherry shaker style with crown mouldings. The design features a pantry with roll-out shelves, corner susans, a double trash can drawer, and a file drawer near the “communications” niche.

The design anticipated a required ceiling soffit in one corner of the kitchen to cover a drain line from the upstairs bathroom. However, the width of the soffit was miscalculated in the initial cabinet design, so two wall cabinets had to be reordered to conform to the actual soffit contour.

A granite countertop was installed as part of the remodel agreement and tile flooring was installed by another contractor throughout the first floor of the residence.

The result is a spacious custom kitchen with increased functionality and storage and dramatic lighting choices. Most importantly, the customer is delighted with the results and the reasonable time frame from the start to a functional kitchen in six weeks

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