Kitchen of the Week: A Hardworking Island and a Vibrant New Backsplash
Clean, contemporary lines combine with handmade finishes and colorful touches in a renovated New Jersey kitchen
Becky Harris
October 14, 2016
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 kitchen had not been touched since the 1970s, but there was nothing groovy about it. The room was closed off from the rest of the house and was dark and dysfunctional. Husband-and-wife design team Darren China, an architect, and Julie China, an interior designer, helped the Maplewood, New Jersey, homeowners get the large island they had once only dreamed of, opened up the room to more natural light, added access to the backyard, improved the flow and gave the room the vibrant style the family longed for.
“After” photos by Anna Herbst
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their son, 6, and daughter, 9
Location: Maplewood, New Jersey
Size: 225 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Idea Space Architecture + Design
“This couple plans to raise their children here,” Julie China says. “They were ready to invest and upgrade their kitchen for the long haul.” With the renovations, they hoped to gain an island, a place to eat together and access to the backyard. In terms of style, they wanted to respect the home’s architecture while finding a more modern design that reflected their family’s energy and taste.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their son, 6, and daughter, 9
Location: Maplewood, New Jersey
Size: 225 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Idea Space Architecture + Design
“This couple plans to raise their children here,” Julie China says. “They were ready to invest and upgrade their kitchen for the long haul.” With the renovations, they hoped to gain an island, a place to eat together and access to the backyard. In terms of style, they wanted to respect the home’s architecture while finding a more modern design that reflected their family’s energy and taste.
BEFORE: The kitchen was dark, clunky and dated. If you look under the sink you can see one of the many cabinet doors that were falling off their hinges.
AFTER: The style of the updated kitchen is clean and contemporary with handmade touches such as the reclaimed wood on the island and the handcrafted terra cotta backsplash tiles.
The top items on the couple’s wish list were an island and a place where the whole family could eat together in the kitchen. The 8-foot-long island met both needs. “The island is an incredible work surface,” Julie says. It provides prep space between the new gas range and the refrigerator.
On the work side, they use the cabinets underneath for their food storage. On the social side, stools provide seating for most of their meals and let the rest of the family and guests keep the cook company while staying out of the way.
Gas slide-in range: KitchenAid; chimney-style range hood: XO
The top items on the couple’s wish list were an island and a place where the whole family could eat together in the kitchen. The 8-foot-long island met both needs. “The island is an incredible work surface,” Julie says. It provides prep space between the new gas range and the refrigerator.
On the work side, they use the cabinets underneath for their food storage. On the social side, stools provide seating for most of their meals and let the rest of the family and guests keep the cook company while staying out of the way.
Gas slide-in range: KitchenAid; chimney-style range hood: XO
The original millwork in the 1929 home is oak, so after moving the dining room wall, they created a new opening trimmed in oak to match. The oak inspired the reclaimed wood on the island, which ties the kitchen to the rest of the house. A waterfall Frosty Carrina Caesarstone countertop provides a sharp contrast to the rustic reclaimed wood.
The Chinas custom designed the radiator cover under the window.
Cabinet paint color: Mineral Alloy; wall color: Sweet Innocence, both Benjamin Moore; countertops: Frosty Carrina, Caesarstone; floor tile: Tile Design Inspirations; backsplash: Chelsea Arts Tile + Stone
The Chinas custom designed the radiator cover under the window.
Cabinet paint color: Mineral Alloy; wall color: Sweet Innocence, both Benjamin Moore; countertops: Frosty Carrina, Caesarstone; floor tile: Tile Design Inspirations; backsplash: Chelsea Arts Tile + Stone
BEFORE: The stairwell to the basement was closed off by a door, right, and the window behind it was going to waste.
The designers opened up the stairwell to the basement. Now the kitchen benefits from the natural light that pours in from that window. Wish-list item No. 3 was direct access to the backyard, so they added the exterior door, left, along with a small deck off it. They created a niche between the two, which is just the right spot for a mini mudroom-landing zone. “Now they have natural light coming in on three sides of the kitchen,” Julie says.
The designers had the homeowners put together some Houzz ideabooks of what they liked, and though neither was interested in a white kitchen, the kinds of things each saved were quite different from the other’s. “One of them liked a lot of cool neutral grays and blues, while the other went bolder with colors like red and gold,” Julie says. “Our goal was to strike a happy medium.” The overall color scheme is soothing and cool yet vibrant thanks to the lively pattern on the backsplash.
The cabinet boxes are Ikea, but the designers ordered up all of the cabinet facings from a California company called Semihandmade. They make cabinet drawer and door fronts that work with Ikea cabinetry boxes, giving the relatively inexpensive cabinets a custom look. The perimeter cabinets are their DIY Shaker style, and the island cabinets and facing are their Wine Barrel finish.
The cabinet boxes are Ikea, but the designers ordered up all of the cabinet facings from a California company called Semihandmade. They make cabinet drawer and door fronts that work with Ikea cabinetry boxes, giving the relatively inexpensive cabinets a custom look. The perimeter cabinets are their DIY Shaker style, and the island cabinets and facing are their Wine Barrel finish.
In the mudroom space they designed a built-in bench where everyone can pull off their shoes, complete with cubbies outfitted with baskets for shoes, hats, scarves and mittens. “Because they already have coat hooks they use elsewhere on the first floor, they opted for a tackboard for invitations, photos, calendars and kid’s artwork in here,” Julie says.
Patterned pillow: Marimekko
Patterned pillow: Marimekko
By using glass on the backyard door, they let more light into the room. The open stairwell to the basement is on the right side.
To bring in just the right dose of brighter color that one of the homeowners loved, the designers tracked down stools with yellow bases and pendant lights with electric yellow cords. The tops of the stools coordinate well with the reclaimed wood on the island.
Industry Pendant - Mercury: West Elm; stools: Industry West
Industry Pendant - Mercury: West Elm; stools: Industry West
Stainless steel appliances and polished chrome hardware bring in sleek modern elements. The mercury glass pendant lights with yellow cords add a funky industrial touch over the island.
Refrigerator: Cafe Series, GE
Refrigerator: Cafe Series, GE
Here are the “before” and “after” plans. Because the dining room was oversized, they were able to push the kitchen just 2 feet into that space rather than having to add on to the house. This added a precious 14 square feet to the kitchen’s footprint, creating enough room to fit in the must-have island in the middle of the kitchen with the appropriate clearances.
Other differences between the two worth noting are the new exterior door to the backyard and the changes to the basement stairwell. By opening up this vestibule, they gained an additional 35 square feet along with natural light from the window, which made the kitchen feel more open.
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
How Much Room Do You Need for a Kitchen Island?
Other differences between the two worth noting are the new exterior door to the backyard and the changes to the basement stairwell. By opening up this vestibule, they gained an additional 35 square feet along with natural light from the window, which made the kitchen feel more open.
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
How Much Room Do You Need for a Kitchen Island?
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Now here's a "blue" kitchen I can like. Very pretty.
Great renovation and like the new look. I would have ignored the oak in the rest of the house. No need to try to have incorporated it. It seems really foreign to the rest of the wonderful kitchen space.