Charming Kitchen Emerges From a Dilapidated Portland Home
An Oregon designer and her husband remodel a tiny green kitchen into the kitchen of their dreams
Before. The small kitchen sat off a rectangular room that had four doorways. The one on the left leads to the basement and the one on the right leads outside. Across the room are two more doorways that lead to the living and dining rooms (not shown).
The couple’s dog, Sole, is standing in the doorway that leads to the kitchen.
The couple’s dog, Sole, is standing in the doorway that leads to the kitchen.
After. Callero and Creviston took down the walls that had boxed in the former kitchen area and expanded the kitchen into the adjoining room. “We now had all this space and realized the possibilities were endless,” Callero says.
Layout. Callero worked with her husband to draw up floor plans and used tape on the floor to mock up options. They tried different configurations, such as one with a narrow island, but in the end found that the design that worked best used the entire length of the right wall. The layout also features a prep sink under the window at the back of the room, with lots of counter space on either side of the new sink. The stove, dishwasher and another sink are placed along the right wall.
To nail down the layout specifics, the couple consulted with their cabinetmaker. “She gave us great feedback,” Callero says. “With any project, sometimes you have stared at it for too long and need a fresh perspective.”
Reclaimed wood. To bring in local charm and an Oregon feel, the couple added a reclaimed beam to the ceiling. They purchased it from the ReBuilding Center and then sanded, finished and sealed it before installation. Then they filled in the rest of the wall (facing us in the photo) with more reclaimed wood.
Floors. The couple refinished the home’s original hardwood floors, which were in great shape, Callero says. She added a patterned rug by the sink to provide cushioning underfoot.
Layout. Callero worked with her husband to draw up floor plans and used tape on the floor to mock up options. They tried different configurations, such as one with a narrow island, but in the end found that the design that worked best used the entire length of the right wall. The layout also features a prep sink under the window at the back of the room, with lots of counter space on either side of the new sink. The stove, dishwasher and another sink are placed along the right wall.
To nail down the layout specifics, the couple consulted with their cabinetmaker. “She gave us great feedback,” Callero says. “With any project, sometimes you have stared at it for too long and need a fresh perspective.”
Reclaimed wood. To bring in local charm and an Oregon feel, the couple added a reclaimed beam to the ceiling. They purchased it from the ReBuilding Center and then sanded, finished and sealed it before installation. Then they filled in the rest of the wall (facing us in the photo) with more reclaimed wood.
Floors. The couple refinished the home’s original hardwood floors, which were in great shape, Callero says. She added a patterned rug by the sink to provide cushioning underfoot.
After. A new window, centered above the sink and painted to match the cabinets, provides sunshine to the couple’s hanging plants. The couple initially painted the window white, but Callero felt it looked too clean. The blue, she says, helps bring the top and bottom of the room together.
Color. “I was actually looking to use a green or teal color for the cabinets,” Callero says. She sampled many greens and eventually found one online that she thought would be perfect. When she started painting the cabinets, however, the color read as blue. “But I liked how it looked with the marble tiles we had picked, so I kept it,” she says. That said, she now wishes she had consulted a color consultant to help her find a paint with more green in it.
Cabinets: custom, Summit Wood Creations; upper cabinet paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore; lower cabinet paint: Newburg Green, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; cabinet hardware: Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery; countertops: Corian, DuPont; sink faucet: champagne bronze wall-mounted bathroom faucet, Trinsic collection, Delta; knobs: brushed bronze cone knob, Nouveau collection, Top Knobs
Color. “I was actually looking to use a green or teal color for the cabinets,” Callero says. She sampled many greens and eventually found one online that she thought would be perfect. When she started painting the cabinets, however, the color read as blue. “But I liked how it looked with the marble tiles we had picked, so I kept it,” she says. That said, she now wishes she had consulted a color consultant to help her find a paint with more green in it.
Cabinets: custom, Summit Wood Creations; upper cabinet paint: Simply White, Benjamin Moore; lower cabinet paint: Newburg Green, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: White Dove, Benjamin Moore; cabinet hardware: Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery; countertops: Corian, DuPont; sink faucet: champagne bronze wall-mounted bathroom faucet, Trinsic collection, Delta; knobs: brushed bronze cone knob, Nouveau collection, Top Knobs
After. The range and range hood now sit where the old doorway did. Without the divisions along the wall, the couple have plenty of counter space, and they had room to install reclaimed-wood shelves.
Appliances. The couple got the white dishwasher at a great price. “Then we went on a white appliance kick,” Callero says. The range, toaster, coffeepot and refrigerator are all white. (You can’t see the refrigerator because it’s tucked into the corner across from the white apron sink.)
Browse white appliances
Appliances. The couple got the white dishwasher at a great price. “Then we went on a white appliance kick,” Callero says. The range, toaster, coffeepot and refrigerator are all white. (You can’t see the refrigerator because it’s tucked into the corner across from the white apron sink.)
Browse white appliances
After. One larger window replaced the two smaller ones. The couple also placed the window so that the second sink would be centered underneath it. For additional light, Callero and Creviston had can lighting installed throughout the room.
Countertop. The white Corian countertop gives the room a clean look, Callero says, and keeps the focus on the custom features in the space, such as the reclaimed beam.
The separate areas of counter space make it easy to have lots of people in the kitchen at one time. Someone can be cooking at the stove while someone else preps fruits and vegetables over at the sink. “We can each have our own workspace and not feel crowded,” Callero says.
Sink faucet: champagne bronze pull-down faucet with magnetic docking spray head, Trinsic Collection, Delta
Browse apron sinks
Countertop. The white Corian countertop gives the room a clean look, Callero says, and keeps the focus on the custom features in the space, such as the reclaimed beam.
The separate areas of counter space make it easy to have lots of people in the kitchen at one time. Someone can be cooking at the stove while someone else preps fruits and vegetables over at the sink. “We can each have our own workspace and not feel crowded,” Callero says.
Sink faucet: champagne bronze pull-down faucet with magnetic docking spray head, Trinsic Collection, Delta
Browse apron sinks
Storage. The open shelves hold a curated collection of everyday dishware. “We have slowly been adding pieces,” Callero says. “We limit it to pieces that look good together so we don’t have to worry about styling it all the time.”
Callero recommends using such shelves for everyday items that get cleaned regularly. That way you don’t have to worry as much about them getting dirty or showing dust.
Reclaimed wood: Salvage Works
Callero recommends using such shelves for everyday items that get cleaned regularly. That way you don’t have to worry as much about them getting dirty or showing dust.
Reclaimed wood: Salvage Works
Range hood. Once they had their range hood up, the couple weren’t sure what they wanted to do with it in terms of style. They liked how the reclaimed beam and shelves looked in the space, so they decided to test out what reclaimed wood might look like on the hood.
They had torn down the backyard fence and still had pieces of wood lying around. “We put them up just to see what it looked like, and we liked it,” Callero says. Now this feature is one of Creviston’s favorite parts of the room.
His other favorite feature is the pot filler they installed above the range.
His other favorite feature is the pot filler they installed above the range.
Home remodeling. For Callero, remodeling her own home has been a reminder of what it’s like to be a client. “When I am in the role of designer,” she says, “I forget how stressful it is to people to make all these choices.”
Since moving in, the couple have tackled other rooms in the home, including the dining room, which you can see through this doorway, and the living room.
More
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Find a kitchen designer
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Since moving in, the couple have tackled other rooms in the home, including the dining room, which you can see through this doorway, and the living room.
More
See more kitchen makeovers
Find a kitchen designer
Look for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Designer Emilia Callero and her husband, Jake Creviston, and their dog, Sole
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 160 square feet (15 square meters)
A house had come on the market in Emilia Callero and Jake Creviston’s ideal neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. It was a foreclosed home, and by the time they inquired about it, the house had been on the market for 30 days. “We thought something must be really wrong with it,” Callero says. But when they toured the 1920s Craftsman-style home, they saw it needed mostly cosmetic changes — except in the kitchen. “It was an awkward space that had never been updated,” Callero says. “People were probably turned off by the amount of work that would need to be done.”
The couple weren’t deterred by the kitchen, though. It and the rest of the home were exactly what they were looking for: a project.
They purchased the house and started renovations right away. Callero and Creviston, who is a professor, did most of the work themselves, starting demolition during Creviston’s spring break.