A Designer’s thought process – transforming an outdated Kensington Kitchen
Here I describe a kitchen remodel where you can see the old kitchen floor plan and compared it to the new kitchen floor plan.
The original layout of this Kensington home was very small and crowded with lots of walls and doorways. It was completely separated and blocked off from the rest of the house.
The homeowners were willing to relocate the washer and dryer to the garage. Which thrilled me as it allowed for more freedom and flexibility for the new kitchen design.
I came up with this great idea to use the brightly lit up Atrium area in the center of the home (see floor plan below) and turn it into the main portion of the kitchen. I was able to remove the wall that separated it from the old kitchen and create one large kitchen. The Atrium is full of natural light and would be the perfect spot to start day off right.
With the Atrium becoming the main kitchen area, this kitchen is truly The Heart of the Home!
Below you will see the old kitchen layout on the left and the new kitchen redesigned floor plan on the right.
To give you an idea of how small and cramped this kitchen was, here are some pictures before it was remodeled.
One key element in design is balance. As you can see I’ve designed the perfect balance on this sink wall in the drawing below.
Awe… behold, here is the completed sink wall of cabinets, with the sliding barn doors to the right.
I also pushed the old laundry wall in, so the door to the exterior side yard would now be in the kitchen (see image above). The side yard is where the homeowners park their cars and now they can enter their home through the kitchen. I also resized the old laundry room and turned it into a walk-in pantry with double sliding barn doors.
I was really excited to design this kitchen since it would be going in the Atrium, which was exactly in the center of the home. It was a blank canvas and perfect for a designer’s creativity.
Because it was to be the main cooking area it needed to be perfect, so I included: an island with prep sink and seating, tall custom hood hovering over a 48″ rangetop, a 42″ refrigerator, double ovens and lots of storage.
I still get excited when I see the transformation of this bright atrium as it has been transformed into a beautiful and functioning kitchen.
Now for the new wine bar room. Before this room was used as a kitchen nook with a table. It sits right behind the dining room and also opens up to the kitchen by the sink wall.
Here is what the kitchen nook looked like before.
Elevation drawing of the New Wine Bar, keeping the balance.
Another view of the completed Kensington kitchen (below).
This particular kitchen is in Kensington, a neighborhood in San Diego, California, 92116
It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of this amazing kitchen transformation. Thank you for reading my blog Post.
Credits:
Interior Designer: Kelly Hendricks, CID, NKBA, Allied ASID of UNIQ Kitchen and Bath Designs
Cabinet Maker: Dennis Schlentz of Dovetail Furnishings