Kitchen of the Week: New Layout and Style Improve Entertaining
An open layout with an island enhances water views and flow, while a blue-and-wood palette gives an upbeat look and feel
Living on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay results in two certainties: beautiful views and frequent guests. So when this husband and wife bought a home near the water, they knew the house’s dated and boring kitchen needed a major overhaul to make it worthy of the spectacular scenery and fit for spur-of-the-moment entertaining.
For help they hired the husband’s sister, designer Jennifer Gilmer, who began by removing a peninsula and expanding the kitchen footprint into a former laundry room to gain 48 square feet. That created room for a hardworking new island with a sink on one side and a wine station on the other, with a walnut countertop, a wine fridge and glass-front cabinets for glassware. Across from the island is a separate entertaining hub with a prep sink, coffee station, ice maker and a TV, where guests can make drinks without getting in the way of the cook in the main kitchen area. Meanwhile, a mix of blue-painted cabinets, watery blue backsplash tile and light maple veneer cabinets deliver an upbeat style that nods to the waterfront location.
For help they hired the husband’s sister, designer Jennifer Gilmer, who began by removing a peninsula and expanding the kitchen footprint into a former laundry room to gain 48 square feet. That created room for a hardworking new island with a sink on one side and a wine station on the other, with a walnut countertop, a wine fridge and glass-front cabinets for glassware. Across from the island is a separate entertaining hub with a prep sink, coffee station, ice maker and a TV, where guests can make drinks without getting in the way of the cook in the main kitchen area. Meanwhile, a mix of blue-painted cabinets, watery blue backsplash tile and light maple veneer cabinets deliver an upbeat style that nods to the waterfront location.
After: Gilmer eliminated the peninsula and expanded the footprint into the former laundry room. The move allowed her to add a multifunctional center island that opens the kitchen to the dining area and creates better circulation. On the exterior side of the island is a wine station with a walnut butcher block countertop. Below that sits a wine fridge flanked by glass-front cabinets.
“Since they knew they were going to put a wine cooler in their kitchen, we decided it should be accessible outside the working part of the kitchen,” Gilmer says. “The walnut was selected because it was a good blend with the entire palette but also because it added some warmth, both visually and physically. Wood is also a great countertop where there are going to be wine and wine glasses. It doesn’t create a lot of noise and is less likely to break a fragile, expensive wine glass. We decided to waterfall the wood top to add interest and create beauty using a geometric look, playing with ‘boxes’ intersecting with one another.”
MDF cabinets painted a soft blue and watery blue glass backsplash tile mix with maple veneer cabinets. “We liked the blue cabinets along with the blue tiles because they are reminiscent of Chesapeake Bay,” Gilmer says. “The light maple gave just the right amount of contrast and helped to make the space light and happy.” Wood-look luxury vinyl flooring complements the other wood finishes.
Cabinetry: Decor Cabinets; cabinetry hardware: Kinney pull with backplates in flat black, Top Knobs
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“Since they knew they were going to put a wine cooler in their kitchen, we decided it should be accessible outside the working part of the kitchen,” Gilmer says. “The walnut was selected because it was a good blend with the entire palette but also because it added some warmth, both visually and physically. Wood is also a great countertop where there are going to be wine and wine glasses. It doesn’t create a lot of noise and is less likely to break a fragile, expensive wine glass. We decided to waterfall the wood top to add interest and create beauty using a geometric look, playing with ‘boxes’ intersecting with one another.”
MDF cabinets painted a soft blue and watery blue glass backsplash tile mix with maple veneer cabinets. “We liked the blue cabinets along with the blue tiles because they are reminiscent of Chesapeake Bay,” Gilmer says. “The light maple gave just the right amount of contrast and helped to make the space light and happy.” Wood-look luxury vinyl flooring complements the other wood finishes.
Cabinetry: Decor Cabinets; cabinetry hardware: Kinney pull with backplates in flat black, Top Knobs
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Before: Here’s another look at the former kitchen. Laminate countertops offered limited workspace and style. The appliances were dated and small. Limited cabinet storage forced the couple to keep small appliances on the counters. A laundry room on the right with side-by-side appliances ate up square footage that the homeowners felt could be put to better use.
After: Expanding the kitchen into the former laundry room created space to add a new 36-inch induction cooktop, a stainless steel hood and a 30-inch convection oven, as well as plenty of countertop area. The island offers an additional work surface. The counters are concrete-look quartz. “The backsplash adds color and, being the only material with a pattern, it worked very well as a focal point,” Gilmer says. “They liked the way the blue glass tile looked like the water outside their window. It’s almost like another water view.”
Gilmer included floating wood shelves on the cooktop wall. “I’m always a proponent of open, floating shelves for dish storage,” she says. “They are easy to access and to put away dishes when emptying the dishwasher. In this case, the shelves serve that purpose but also allow us to create symmetry around the hood while creating an asymmetrical design element.”
Quartz counters: 4001 Fresh Concrete, Caesarstone
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Gilmer included floating wood shelves on the cooktop wall. “I’m always a proponent of open, floating shelves for dish storage,” she says. “They are easy to access and to put away dishes when emptying the dishwasher. In this case, the shelves serve that purpose but also allow us to create symmetry around the hood while creating an asymmetrical design element.”
Quartz counters: 4001 Fresh Concrete, Caesarstone
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Before: This view of the former kitchen from the dining area shows the laundry room in the back, as well as the awkward angled wall containing the refrigerator. “The refrigerator on an angle was a huge waste of space that cramped the powder room,” Gilmer says.
After: The expansion into the laundry room made space for a new black stainless steel fridge on the range wall. To the right of the fridge, stacked front-load laundry appliances save space.
Gilmer squared off the angled wall surrounding the powder room and hung a large mirror. “I felt like a large mirror would visually expand the space even more, and at the same time those sitting at the table facing it would still have a view of the water,” she says.
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Gilmer squared off the angled wall surrounding the powder room and hung a large mirror. “I felt like a large mirror would visually expand the space even more, and at the same time those sitting at the table facing it would still have a view of the water,” she says.
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The main kitchen side of the island holds the main sink, a paneled dishwasher and a pullout trash and recycling center. The undermount 16-gauge stainless steel sink is paired with a pull-down kitchen faucet with polished chrome finish.
The glass-paneled door in back leads to a deck. On the left wall opposite the island is the new entertaining hub.
Sink: Crosstown, Elkay; faucet: Joleena HighArc, Hansgrohe
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The glass-paneled door in back leads to a deck. On the left wall opposite the island is the new entertaining hub.
Sink: Crosstown, Elkay; faucet: Joleena HighArc, Hansgrohe
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Before: This wall opposite the kitchen had dark-stained knotty pine cabinets, which the owners felt didn’t fit with the atmosphere they were going for. A large square soffit to the left of the cabinets housed a duct and created a visual distraction.
After: Gilmer turned the wall into an entertaining hub, using the same maple veneer flat-front cabinets and watery blue backsplash tile seen elsewhere in the kitchen. She squared off the soffit and disguised a portion of it with the cabinets. “The upper part of the tall cabinets on the left are reduced in depth so as to encompass the bottom portion of that unsightly ‘thing,’” she says.
The hub also includes a coffee center, a speed oven, a prep sink, a TV and plenty of pantry storage for snacks.
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The hub also includes a coffee center, a speed oven, a prep sink, a TV and plenty of pantry storage for snacks.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Before: In the former space, the dining area felt cramped and separated from the kitchen.
After: With the peninsula gone, the two spaces now enjoy a better connection. “After the kitchen was done, it literally seemed like it was more than double the size it was before,” Gilmer says.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple who entertain
Location: Holland Point, Maryland
Size: 331 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer: Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath
Before: The former 282-square-foot kitchen had stunning views but lacked style and a layout fit for entertaining. A long peninsula closed the space off from the nearby dining area, forcing guests to enter the kitchen workspace to grab drinks or snacks. “The peninsula cut the kitchen up, making it feel like a smaller space than it actually is,” Gilmer says.