Small Kitchen: Dark and Gloomy to Bright and Happy

Removing dated cabinets and adding more lighting gives this homeowner the clean look she had long desired

Sam Smith June 9, 2017

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Achieving the look of a sleek, airy kitchen doesn’t always mean a ton of construction — just ask Sheila Lincoln. Rather than installing an addition or expanding into another room, she chose to work within the footprint of her kitchen when she had it remodeled last fall.

Before Photo

Photos by Sheila Lincoln

Kitchen at a Glance
Location: Norton, Massachusetts, about 40 miles from Boston
Size: 144 square feet (13.4 square meters)
Layout: L-shaped with island
Had to keep: A red-brick bar area and the island
Contractor: J.A. Benson Contractors in Taunton, Massachusetts, plus the homeowner
Project cost: $15,000

BEFORE: The house was built in 1957 and had undergone only minor updates throughout the years. Though Lincoln had always felt her kitchen was dark and gloomy, she says time constraints caused most improvements to be pushed to the back burner. “We bought our house 40 years ago, and we became busy with life, work and raising our two kids,” she says.

Lincoln’s other main pain points were a lack of insulation in the room, inadequate lighting and minimum storage.

Kitchen Small Kitchen: Keeping the Same Footprint, but Making a Kitchen Shine

AFTER: But the chief goal of the project was to get rid of the original darkly stained pine cabinets and Formica countertops, and finally create a modern, brighter kitchen that would be a pleasure to cook and entertain in.

Lincoln hired J.A. Benson Contractors for help, but she was very hands-on in the planning and purchasing of items. “I did all of the research online before they started,” she says. “So I knew where I was going to buy everything.”

Lincoln chose light quartz countertops and white cabinets with chrome hardware. The backsplash is white beadboard that matches the ceiling. Not a fan of stainless steel, she chose to keep her white appliances and bought a new white microwave.

Cabinets: M.D. Cabinetry; countertops: Calacatta Vicenza quartz, installed by Bedrock Granite; faucet: Glacier Bay, Home Depot

Before Photo

BEFORE: After stripping the room to the studs, the builders put more insulation in the walls. The plumbing and electricity were left mainly untouched, except for the addition of undercounter lighting and multiple power strips for using small appliances such as her microwave, mixer and toaster.

Lincoln’s husband, who died recently, built the red-brick nook that separates the kitchen from the family room. It’s referred to as the “mixing bar” and is used for making cocktails and serving buffets. He also made the island that matches the original cabinets. “They are very special to me,” she says. “I had to keep them.”

This is the view from the family room into the kitchen. After the kitchen was completed, Lincoln painted the cabinet on the right a bright white and added new hardware to liven up the area linking the two spaces.

The two chairs at the island complement Lincoln’s dining room set, all of which were bought at a store selling unfinished furniture and were stained medium brown.

While shopping at Lowe’s, Lincoln fell in love with the shape and design of the glass-and-chrome chandelier, which originally came with a dropped chain that would’ve made the fixture hang too low. She was delighted when her electrician was able to remove the chain and flatly secure it to the ceiling.

Lincoln had a specific idea of the hardware she wanted and was able to find it online. The contractors were able to add a tiny cabinet that holds bills and recipes in a sliver of space between the mixing bar and a cabinet. The extra bit of counter space also worked well for Lincoln’s small flat-screen TV.

Hardware: Restoration Hardware

Before Photo

BEFORE: Lincoln had a tight budget, and removing the old plaster-like swirls from the ceiling would have proven too costly.

AFTER: Instead, the contractor came up with the idea to cover the swirls with wood painted white.

Ceiling paint: Flat White, Behr

The old kitchen contained hardly any storage. The contractors were able to carve a small space (shown here during construction) into the wall behind the stairwell that leads to the basement for a pantry closet.

AFTER: Now, Lincoln is thrilled to have a place to house her casserole dishes, cooking utensils and plastic storage containers.

Lincoln says the job, which lasted six weeks, came off without a hitch. “Everything fit back into place,” she says. “There were no contractor nightmares. My only complaint is why I hadn’t done this sooner.”

Details
Walls moved: No. Footprint remained the same, with the exception of a small space carved out for a pantry.
Professionals hired: General contractor
Duration of project: Six weeks
Lived in during remodel: Yes. Lincoln moved essentials into the dining room and ordered lots of takeout meals.

Cost Breakdown
Cabinets and hardware: $3,500
Microwave: $255
Lighting and power strips: $1,700
Labor, materials and installation: $9,545
Total: $15,000

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