Two-toned kitchen: This cute little kitchen gets a massive refresh

It isn't very often that I design a two-toned kitchen. In fact, this is my very first one that I have designed. Can you believe it? Crazy right?

I was so delighted that very dear family friends of ours reached out to assist them with their kitchen refresh project.

Two-Toned Kitchen - The Before

I always love working with clients and solving design dilemmas. When we discuss kitchens, we always discuss the likes and the dislikes of the current situation. Then, we dig down to get to the real issues. Sometimes, the issues are evident while other times, there's a bit of detective work to do.

For our family friends, there were a couple of things on the list:

1. The kitchen was in need of an update.
2. The function of the current kitchen was not working well. Crammed cabinets, minimal pull-out drawers, and a very small pantry were a few of the pain points.
3. With the Mr. of the home having some health and mobility issues, there were some needed changes that we were going to address.

Want to see the before pictures? Of course you do! Here are a few.

BEFORE: Laminate counters, white appliances, under cabinet 'boob lights', and not enough storage. Post it notes were for cabinets that were were able to give away.

BEFORE: My clients' granddaughter checking out the old kitchen. The corner cabinet was a total waste of space!

BEFORE: We had already removed the upper cabinet above the fridge to make room for the new fridge (which we had to accept prior to demo).

BEFORE: One pantry for the entire kitchen.

As you can see, the cabinets were a bit dated (ok - a lot dated).

The Plan

For this refresh project, we were not going to be removing any walls to make this kitchen larger. My clients were quite happy with a seperate formal dining room located behind the refrigerator wall.

The top items on the refresh list:

• New appliances (stove, hood fan, and refrigerator).
• More storage space.
• A microwave shelf.
• Pull out drawers where possible.
• Under cabinet lighting
• Keep the existing floor

Here is the conceptual design I came up with to handle the points above.

Pull out drawers under the sink with darker lower cabinets and lighter upper cabinets |Sheri Bruneau, Designer

On both sides of the stove, pull out drawers. White upper cabinets with darker lower cabinets tying in the wood feature on the hood fan | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

More pull-out drawers. Notice the pull-out below the microwave to see things on. The right pantry has 3 roll-out trays on the interior | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

The Final Two-Toned Kitchen

At first, I thought working with the existing floor was going to present a huge challenge. It has a very strong orange undertone and is very shiny.

Part of the look we were going for was a touch of a farmhouse look. I think we captured the farmhouse look as well as checking off all of the boxes on the wish list.

AFTER: Two toned kitchen. The little wood feature on the hood fan is one of my favourite parts | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

AFTER: Microwave pull out counter to assist the Mr. with cooking | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

AFTER: Both corners house these great kidney-shape organizers | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

AFTER: Apron sink, touch-free faucet, and hot water on demand | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

AFTER: A little close up of the cute knobs for the white upper cabinets | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

AFTER: Close up of the gorgeous quartz and textured backsplash tile | Sheri Bruneau, Designer

Two-Toned Kitchen

When I look back at this four-week transformation, it truly amazes me the difference a two-toned kitchen has made to this space. While we did not change the footprint, it truly feels like a more spacious kitchen.

I believe the biggest take-away with this project is that amazing things can happen even if walls don't come down! You can certainly pack a punch in a small space, and this project proves it!

A Little Kitchen Love

I absolutley love working with re-designing kitchens. While I don't do a lot of decorating, I LOVE shopping for decor items for kitchens. Here are a few of my favourites!

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1 Serving Tray 2. Blue Dish Set 3. Charcuterie Board 4.Thumb print latte cups 5. The Cutest Dog Treat Canister

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