Two-Tone Cabinets and an Open Wood Island in a Sunny Kitchen
Expanding this Boston condo kitchen up and out creates a functional space for entertaining and cooking with friends
One look at the previous kitchen in this converted brownstone condo in Boston and it’s easy to see that storage, space planning and attention to design were not priorities. For one thing, the fridge, dishwasher, sink and range were all lined up along the shorter wall. And a narrow peninsula, apparently made of shallow upper cabinets rather than full-depth cabinetry, divided the already small space into a small kitchen and small dining area.
So nobody lamented the loss of the poorly constructed space when a young newlywed couple moved in and hired designer Jodi Swartz to remove everything and create a stunning navy-and-white kitchen with lots of storage and plenty of room for entertaining.
So nobody lamented the loss of the poorly constructed space when a young newlywed couple moved in and hired designer Jodi Swartz to remove everything and create a stunning navy-and-white kitchen with lots of storage and plenty of room for entertaining.
After: Swartz expanded the kitchen by extending it into the former dining area. This allowed her to give some breathing room between appliances. She moved the fridge to the far right and positioned the new induction range on the back wall.
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The space that contained the fridge became a closet that houses a stacked washer and dryer. A custom salvaged-wood table acts as both dining spot and island prep space.
Swartz maximized storage and highlighted the height of the room by taking the cabinets almost to the ceiling and capping them with large cove molding. The homeowners use the top cabinets to store infrequently used items like camping gear and novelty appliances given to them as wedding gifts. A ladder stored in the laundry closet gives them access to the top cabinets.
Base cabinet paint: Naval, Sherwin-Williams; wall and area above laundry paint: Lazy Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Swartz maximized storage and highlighted the height of the room by taking the cabinets almost to the ceiling and capping them with large cove molding. The homeowners use the top cabinets to store infrequently used items like camping gear and novelty appliances given to them as wedding gifts. A ladder stored in the laundry closet gives them access to the top cabinets.
Base cabinet paint: Naval, Sherwin-Williams; wall and area above laundry paint: Lazy Gray, Sherwin-Williams
Before: The small dining area didn’t make sense for the owners, who like to entertain and cook with friends.
After: Swartz used the space to expand the kitchen. To allow room for the right-side fridge door to open, she couldn’t take the fridge all the way to the wall. Instead of leaving an empty gap, she created an alder storage unit for wine bottles and cookbooks. She wrapped the wood over the top of the upper cabinet to connect the component to the rest of the kitchen and the alder floating shelves over the sink.
The large windows on the right flood the space with natural light and offer views of a park.
The large windows on the right flood the space with natural light and offer views of a park.
The alder shelves above the large farm-style sink add some airiness to the kitchen.
Swartz decided to panel the dishwasher to the left of the sink so the stainless steel didn’t take away from the sink and shelves. “The fridge, induction oven and wine fridge were enough steel,” she says.
Sink: Whitehaven, 30 inches, Kohler
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Swartz decided to panel the dishwasher to the left of the sink so the stainless steel didn’t take away from the sink and shelves. “The fridge, induction oven and wine fridge were enough steel,” she says.
Sink: Whitehaven, 30 inches, Kohler
More on Houzz
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Get more kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer near you
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Young newlyweds who both work in tech; she’s in marketing, he’s in sales
Location: Boston
Size: 159 square feet (15 square meters); 16 feet, 2 inches by 9 feet, 10 inches
Designer: Jodi Swartz of KitchenVisions
Before: The existing kitchen was poorly and hastily constructed, unnecessarily divided the room and didn’t take advantage of the 11-foot ceilings. All the appliances were crammed together on the shorter wall. “There was very little storage,” Swartz says. “They had decent upper cabinets. There were no drawers in this kitchen.”
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