Kitchen of the Week: Ready for Cooking, Music and Game Nights
A designer knocks down walls to give a New Jersey couple the open and casual space they desired
Becky Harris
June 26, 2020
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
This New Jersey couple love to cook together, entertain friends and family and host game nights. In order to give them a kitchen that accommodated their lifestyle, interior designer Tracey Stephens thoughtfully reconfigured their home’s first-floor layout. The existing kitchen had occupied a cramped, partially enclosed space between the dining room and family room. The designer knocked down walls to create a large eat-in kitchen that works well for the way the couple like to cook and entertain. And she completed the remodel with green building in mind.
“After” photos by Wing Wong
Kitchen at a Glance
Who uses it: A young couple
Location: Montclair, New Jersey
Size: 332 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer: Tracey Stephens
Before: The kitchen was a U-shaped space between the dining room and family room. There was an eat-in area in a bay on the left. “My clients enjoy cooking together. But the appliances were crowded into one corner and there wasn’t enough room for both of them,” Stephens says.
Their wish list also included a large island that could seat four, an open space with an easy flow and nice sightlines, doors to close off the adjacent music room, a gray-blue island and lighting they could control from their smartphones. The homeowners shared Houzz ideabooks with Stephens so she could get a good idea of their style, which is clean and transitional.
Also, the flooring was different in each space. The dining room had nice red oak floors, the kitchen had vinyl floors, and the family room had different wood floors with strong orange tones.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who uses it: A young couple
Location: Montclair, New Jersey
Size: 332 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer: Tracey Stephens
Before: The kitchen was a U-shaped space between the dining room and family room. There was an eat-in area in a bay on the left. “My clients enjoy cooking together. But the appliances were crowded into one corner and there wasn’t enough room for both of them,” Stephens says.
Their wish list also included a large island that could seat four, an open space with an easy flow and nice sightlines, doors to close off the adjacent music room, a gray-blue island and lighting they could control from their smartphones. The homeowners shared Houzz ideabooks with Stephens so she could get a good idea of their style, which is clean and transitional.
Also, the flooring was different in each space. The dining room had nice red oak floors, the kitchen had vinyl floors, and the family room had different wood floors with strong orange tones.
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After: Stephens removed the walls in the center of the space. This opened all three spaces up to one another completely rather than partially. The cabinetry and appliances on the right serve the dining area. They include a bar with a beverage fridge and glassware storage.
Stephens kept the existing 4-inch red oak flooring in the dining room and found matching flooring for the rest of the space. Then she had all of the floors sanded and stained in an updated dark walnut color.
These homeowners love a lively game night and host them often. This more casual setup is perfect for the way they like to entertain. The game set up here is a favorite, Catan Cities & Knights. They also love to fill the house with music, so Stephens had eight speakers installed throughout the space. “Every time I go to their house they have music playing. It’s really nice,” she says.
Stephens kept the existing 4-inch red oak flooring in the dining room and found matching flooring for the rest of the space. Then she had all of the floors sanded and stained in an updated dark walnut color.
These homeowners love a lively game night and host them often. This more casual setup is perfect for the way they like to entertain. The game set up here is a favorite, Catan Cities & Knights. They also love to fill the house with music, so Stephens had eight speakers installed throughout the space. “Every time I go to their house they have music playing. It’s really nice,” she says.
Before: The area at the bottom of this floor plan remains a family room. The kitchen was in the center, with the eat-in area in the bay across from it. The dining room was at the top.
After: Stephens flipped things around — the working part of the kitchen occupies the space at the top. The eat-in dining area occupies the center, with a serve-yourself coffee, snack and bar zone on one side of the table and a comfy coffee lounge area on the other.
This reconfiguration was trickier than it looks. Compare the before-and-after plans to see how Stephens pushed back the wall at the top right so it would line up with the rest of the wall. This was necessary to make enough room for an island and proper clearances around it. Also, she removed a structural post behind the fridge and added a new ceiling beam to make up for it.
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This reconfiguration was trickier than it looks. Compare the before-and-after plans to see how Stephens pushed back the wall at the top right so it would line up with the rest of the wall. This was necessary to make enough room for an island and proper clearances around it. Also, she removed a structural post behind the fridge and added a new ceiling beam to make up for it.
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“Uh-oh” moment: Stephens had designed windows that reached farther to the left, but during demo they discovered a vent pipe inside the wall. Relocating the pipe would have had a domino effect requiring more construction upstairs, so she shifted the window over to the right. This left more space on the wall where the window would have been, so she installed walnut floating shelves that match the shelves she used in the bar area.
New French pocket doors open to the kitchen. The couple are working on turning the adjacent space into a music room, so doors were necessary to block sound. Using glass allows the two spaces to share light and maintain an open feel even when the doors are closed.
New French pocket doors open to the kitchen. The couple are working on turning the adjacent space into a music room, so doors were necessary to block sound. Using glass allows the two spaces to share light and maintain an open feel even when the doors are closed.
Before: At 80 square feet, the old kitchen was cramped and there wasn’t enough space for the couple to cook together.
Stephens prioritizes green building in her designs and part of that is being conscious about materials removed during demolition and other construction waste. She uses Evergreen Recycling Solutions, a company that recycles construction waste. Other sustainable and healthy aspects include:
Stephens prioritizes green building in her designs and part of that is being conscious about materials removed during demolition and other construction waste. She uses Evergreen Recycling Solutions, a company that recycles construction waste. Other sustainable and healthy aspects include:
- LED task lighting on separate switches that are also controlled via smartphones
- Energy Star-rated appliances
- A WaterSense-rated faucet
- Low- and zero-VOC paints with technology that inhibits mold and mildew and eliminates odors
Before: This was the existing dining room space, which the kitchen now occupies.
After: By taking over the existing dining room and pushing back the wall on the right, Stephens made room for a hardworking kitchen island. In planning the layout, she thought carefully about how the couple like to work in the space and accommodate guests. “I like to create work zones,” she says.
The island is a good place for prepping and serving, and it’s convenient to all the appliances. Stephens placed the sink away from the range and ovens so that one person could prep while the other cooked. She placed the double wall ovens past the island for clearance when the doors are open. ‘"You need a landing spot for things you pull out of the oven. They can use the counter next to the ovens and the island,” she says.
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The island is a good place for prepping and serving, and it’s convenient to all the appliances. Stephens placed the sink away from the range and ovens so that one person could prep while the other cooked. She placed the double wall ovens past the island for clearance when the doors are open. ‘"You need a landing spot for things you pull out of the oven. They can use the counter next to the ovens and the island,” she says.
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“It can be awkward to have the fridge on one side of the island, so I pushed it down past it,” Stephens says. Past the fridge are pantry cabinets with rollout shelves. Zoning the food and drinks this way makes it easy for people to serve themselves beverages and snacks outside of the main work area. Stephens flanked the fridge with a coffee station on the left and a bar on the right.
The style of the kitchen is a mix of traditional and contemporary transitional. “These quartz countertops are dramatic and beautiful,” Stephens says. The backsplash is a large subway tile with a wavy texture, laid in a herringbone pattern.
The cabinetry is a mix of modern slab-front and traditional Shaker style. The island base paint is Wall Street and the perimeter cabinet paint is Heron Plume, both by Sherwin-Williams. Stephens notes that the cabinets have a clear protective coat on top, so paint right out of the can won’t be an exact match to what you see here.
Counters: Versilia Grigio quartz, Corian; brushed nickel pulls: Richelieu
The style of the kitchen is a mix of traditional and contemporary transitional. “These quartz countertops are dramatic and beautiful,” Stephens says. The backsplash is a large subway tile with a wavy texture, laid in a herringbone pattern.
The cabinetry is a mix of modern slab-front and traditional Shaker style. The island base paint is Wall Street and the perimeter cabinet paint is Heron Plume, both by Sherwin-Williams. Stephens notes that the cabinets have a clear protective coat on top, so paint right out of the can won’t be an exact match to what you see here.
Counters: Versilia Grigio quartz, Corian; brushed nickel pulls: Richelieu
The coffee and tea station’s location next to the fridge makes it easy to grab milk and cream.
Moving the wall with the pocket doors back allowed for 42 inches between the island and the counters on this side. Stephens factored in how much the stools would stick out from the island and left 36 inches between the stools and cabinetry.
The homeowners didn’t want to block sightlines with pendant lights, so Stephens installed LED task lights in the ceiling. All are on separate switches, have dimmers and can be controlled with smartphones.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
The homeowners didn’t want to block sightlines with pendant lights, so Stephens installed LED task lights in the ceiling. All are on separate switches, have dimmers and can be controlled with smartphones.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
The Julien SmartStation sink’s features include a colander bin on the right. Stephens notes that chef sinks like these need special accommodations that have to be addressed early in the design process and coordinated with subcontractors.
“It’s important to make sure the countertop fabricator knows about all the accessories that need to slide back and forth, so that the sink cutout is large enough to accommodate them,” she says. “You also need to plan ahead for whatever is going on under the sink relative to drain location, like a water filtration system or water chiller system. Some of these types of sinks store the accessories below the sink when not in use and some don’t.”
Single-handle articulating-arm faucet: Brizo Artesso
“It’s important to make sure the countertop fabricator knows about all the accessories that need to slide back and forth, so that the sink cutout is large enough to accommodate them,” she says. “You also need to plan ahead for whatever is going on under the sink relative to drain location, like a water filtration system or water chiller system. Some of these types of sinks store the accessories below the sink when not in use and some don’t.”
Single-handle articulating-arm faucet: Brizo Artesso
The custom cabinets were crafted by Eastman Street Woodworks in their Tahoe style. They contain special inserts such as knife blocks, utensil sections, bins for cooking tools and charging docks for devices.
Stephens installed this special pullout for cooking tools on one side of the range and a spice drawer on the other. “Most of my clients prefer drawers to pullouts for spices these days,” she says. Drawers make it easier to read the labels.
To the right of the fridge is the bar that serves the eat-in area. The beverage fridge has racks for cans and wine bottles.
Stephens installed LED task lighting under the cabinets and floating shelves. The shelves were fabricated by Shelfology. She had them rout a channel into the bottoms of the shelves for wiring. This allowed her to recess a metal bracket for the lights into them for a clean look.
Stephens installed LED task lighting under the cabinets and floating shelves. The shelves were fabricated by Shelfology. She had them rout a channel into the bottoms of the shelves for wiring. This allowed her to recess a metal bracket for the lights into them for a clean look.
Before: The bay that contained the small eat-in area.
The eat-in area was no longer needed in the new design, so it gave Stephens the opportunity to create a cozy lounge area. The space is perfect for drinking coffee and reading the paper in the morning. A glass pendant light cozies up the space.
For wellness and durability, she chose paints that are stain-resistant, washable, mold- and mildew- inhibiting and odor-resistant. The blue paint is Smoky Blue by Sherwin-Williams in its Emerald interior acrylic latex. For the ceilings, she chose the company’s Harmony interior acrylic paint, which has odor-reducing technology.
Takeaways:
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For wellness and durability, she chose paints that are stain-resistant, washable, mold- and mildew- inhibiting and odor-resistant. The blue paint is Smoky Blue by Sherwin-Williams in its Emerald interior acrylic latex. For the ceilings, she chose the company’s Harmony interior acrylic paint, which has odor-reducing technology.
Takeaways:
- French pocket doors with glass panes are a great way to share light between rooms.
- Zone a coffee station away from the main kitchen work area.
- Factor in how far stools will protrude when calculating clearances around an island.
- Make sure subcontractors are aware of the specific requirements of a chef’s sink.
- Spice drawers make it easy to read labels.
- Use paints that absorb odors in the kitchen.
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@lewisdal The kitchen/dining space is 13'-7" wide and 25'-6" long (346 square feet) plus the lounge nook (40 SF). The length of the entire space including the seating section, fireplace, TV is 40'-7".
What color is on the island?
@jimscustom As noted in the story: "The island cabinet paint is Wall Street and the perimeter cabinet paint is Heron Plume, both by Sherwin-Williams. Stephens notes that the cabinets have a clear protective coat on top, so paint right out of the can won’t be an exact match to what you see here."