Top 10 Ways to Redesign your Kitchen Space

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Top 10 Ways to Redesign your Kitchen Space

In scenic Cheyenne, Wyoming Christine Connell, longed to transform her home.  She was inspired by a series of books – The Not So Big House series by Sarah Susanka – which embraces better houses not bigger houses.  To achieve her dream she hired architect Curtis Marwitz of Silver Run Architects. and the entire first floor was redesigned to capture the “not so big” style.  But he also worked with the client to “bring openness to the house, [and] embrace a contemporary Wyoming craftsman sensibility” he says.

The before and after shots inspire our list of 10 Ways to Redesign your Space, to make better use of your kitchen space just like Christine did:
Cheyenne Kitchen

1) Kitchen cabinet style and design is critical: Redesign kitchen cabinets to better utilize space, create display shelves for precious knickknack to avoid clutter, and reinforce the style of the home with the overall cabinet design.

2) Use larger tiles and wide plank floors: Larger tiles and All 7” Carlisle Wide Plank White Oak flooring minimized seams and complemented the open look – smaller tiles and narrow boards would make the room, especially this large a room, look way too busy

3) Don’t be confined: Remove the overhead kitchen cabinets to open the kitchen up to the other rooms and make the kitchen bigger – creating more space without an addition!

4) Utilize your space: Put your overhead pace to good use around the perimeter not in the middle of the room

5) Don’t underestimate the island: Maximize the island with storage space and tucked in seating area for stools so it doesn’t intrude on walk ways and living areas

6) Adjust the traffic pattern for your kitchen: Shift the island and open a new hallway outside the kitchen, to both accommodate the larger design and avoid a main walkway through your kitchen – to keep it cleaner and with less clutter.
Before After Cheyenne Walkway With Wood Flooring

 

7) Location, Location, Location: You may not need new appliances, just reorganize their location to make the kitchen more functional to how you work in it

8) Complement don’t match: Complement the darker cabinets with light tile and wood floors, trying to match colors can be challenging and often unsuccessful.

9) Use Architectural Details to define not walls: Notice how the beams and tile/wood floor design define the kitchen area but still create an open concept and arts and crafts style paneling is used to open up the entry into the Dining Room.
Dining Room

 

10) Add a little color:  open spaces are best created with lighter colors, as seen here with the light walls and floors, and medium toned wood.  But color like in the prairie green island can add just the right splash

As you can see, there were no grand or expensive additions, just careful forethought by architect and homeowner toward space planning and understanding the function of the home.

See more photos of the project on the Silver Run Architects Facebook page.  Or visit the website to learn more about the Not So Big House series and Sarah Susanka

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