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Using White to Wow
Classic white cabinetry creates a Cape feel in these kitchens.
Professional Photography: Jennifer Eldredge Stello
Sandwich project
Design & Build: Lewis & Weldon
Professional Photography: Dan Cutrona
Most of the living nowadays isn’t done in the living room. It is the kitchen that is the hub of the home. That’s why it is so important for this high-traffic living space to fit the individual needs of every homeowner and family. Here are three kitchen-remodeling projects by three different designers that all utilize a classic element—white cabinetry; each meet the challenge of staying unique and fresh, while also staying true to the needs and style preferences of the homeowners.
Details Make the Difference
“Our kitchen was about 12 years old when we felt we needed an update,” says Jim Langway about he and his wife Ellie’s second home. The floors needed to be redone and the style needed a makeover. “The kitchen had no color, no pizzazz to it,” says Ellie. Since Judy Keenan of Mid-Cape Home Centers’ Complete Home Concepts had redone their master bathroom a year before, they knew just who to ask, as Ellie puts it, “ to take the hassle out” of planning and executing a full kitchen remodel.
“I like trying to accomplish creating a design that the customer really likes and that meets all their needs and is functional at the same time,” says Keenan, who was the head designer on the project. Through daily communication, Keenan and the Langways were able to come up with a kitchen design concept that was warm and elegant with just a smidge of Mediterranean flavor and lots of great details.
“I like the molding application,” cites Keenan as her favorite part of the kitchen remodel. This detail might, at first, go unnoticed in light of the many other great features within the kitchen, but it effortlessly conducts the flow of the design from one side of the room to the other, grounding the cabinetry to form a very finished look.
The molding was a major upgrade from the original space-stealing soffits that bulged from the ceiling. Another serious upgrade was the cabinetry, which was Jim’s favorite part of the kitchen redesign. “They are very functional. They close easily. And they create separate work areas in the kitchen.”
The new cabinetry provides more storage as well as a welcomed departure from the bright white cabinetry that was there before. “We wanted a glaze for the look because we wanted something a little different,” Ellie says of the warmer shade of white. The maple Dynasty Omega custom cabinetry with a Mandalay door style has a “thick” hazelnut glaze. “I asked them to come back and glaze it a little heavier,” recounts Ellie. “I knew what I wanted.”
For contrast, the cabinetry built into the kitchen island is an even darker, warmer shade of white—a cocoa stain with a coffee glaze. The island, since it is at the center of the kitchen, will no doubt, also be at the center of group entertaining. Knowing this, Ellie says, “We wanted a functional island. The kitchen [now] has become the family room where we [entertain] our 9 grandchildren and company.” The old, irregularly shaped island had a cook stove that left no room for family and friends. Now, “We can set up buffet tables at cookouts,” states Ellie. And with many great features built into the granite island, such as the GE double-drawer refrigerator and a combination convection microwave oven and warming drawer by Miele, it offers both function and convenience.
“Now I walk in and have a good feeling about the kitchen,” says Ellie. “I know that sounds corny.”
Stylish, Casual and Kid Friendly
Twelve years ago Jim Hanlon decided to put down roots in Sandwich, and build a home for Sharon, his soon-to-be wife, and himself. At the time, the focus was put on building the house and not all the little details that come along with creating a kitchen that is the perfect fit for a future family of four. So, after having outgrown the kitchen, the Hanlons recently decided to trade in their bland builders-grade kitchen for something that fits their needs today.
“This was my first project,” says Sharon proudly. “Jim built the house.” After researching four different companies to help with the remodel, Sharon finally decided on Lewis & Weldon. “It was a cohesive group. They handled all aspects of the project from the design to the construction; they even made the cabinets,” she says. “And they even got along with my kids.”
Last July, with the design and construction team from Lewis & Weldon in place, the kitchen-remodeling project began. “I know what I like. I like a casual but elegant look because I have children,” says Sharon about what style kitchen she wanted.
“I had to have a prep sink and I had to have a tabletop,” says Sharon resolutely. Relaxed, but elegant, the new, custom-made curved cherry wood table and granite kitchen island combo with a prep sink, definitely fills the bill. The island joins a functional food-prep space with a warm and welcoming wooden tabletop, where people have the option to sit next to each other around a curve, instead across from each other along the blunt-edge of a rectangle. “This is the perfect solution,” says Sharon. “I needed this to be the family spot; my friends love it, because everyone has a seat.”
Besides installing the customized island, the kitchen-remodeling project included adding more space by bumping out the deck to extend the kitchen, a wooden coat-rack unit, all-new custom cabinetry and a skylight to brighten the kitchen.
Because the kitchen was formerly the darkest room in the house, Sharon chose to paint the custom-made Lewis & Weldon cabinetry an antique white. “I thought it was a great look—very Cape-y,” she says. The clear glass doors with mullions and spotlighting add a polished refinement to the upper cabinetry, while oil-rubbed bronze hardware tempers the look with a breezy, easy-going feel. “It gives it the feeling that it has always been here,” says Lewis & Weldon owner and team member Chuck Hart, about the hardware.
Since its completion last Halloween, the whole family has been enjoying the new, updated kitchen space. “It is just so bright and cheerful in here,” says Sharon. “My sons’ (ages 6 and 8) favorite is the microwave drawer. I let them make popcorn. They love that they can reach.”
Practical Solutions
When Sue Hunt and her husband bought their home in 2005, they knew immediately that they wanted to remodel the kitchen. “The minute I walked in, I knew it just needed an update,” says Sue about the outdated layout and design.
To help with the project, Sue cold-called Bayside Kitchen & Bath in Falmouth. “We offer the whole package (building, design, plumbing, electric). You only have to make one phone call,” says Owner Mark Lane, who has been designing kitchen and bath projects since 1994.
“The layout of the kitchen was very important,” Sue says. The original layout was inconvenient, at best. The sink and stove were set up on opposite sides of the room, forcing the homeowners to ferry heavy pots from one side to the other. And the L-shape layout boxed in the kitchen area with a large, protruding counter, completely separating it from the living room, and making the space look much smaller overall.
The solution: create a triangle traffic pattern to increase functionality. “We took the L-shape out and opened up the kitchen,” Mark explains, by removing the counter between the living room and the kitchen. Now, you can walk straight through the kitchen, without having to go around the large counter. Additionally, the stove was moved closer to the sink to make cooking tasks more about food preparation than strength training. And, in the center of the kitchen, a more modern-looking granite-topped island was installed, combining workspace with storage and a small sitting area. “It went from the 1980s look of the L countertop to the more current [look of the] islands,” says Mark, summing up the transition.
Even though the kitchen lost some storage by removing counter space and cabinetry, overall, “It is more organized,” says Sue. The original builders-grade cabinetry didn’t separate storage. “The drawers didn’t hold everything,” she says. But now there is task-designated storage, including a Lazy Susan for pots and pans, baking drawers for storing baking supplies, a pull-out spice rack and a two-sided trash bin—one for disposal and one for recycling.
The kitchen makeover went so well that the Hunts are thinking about remodeling the bathroom in their master suite. Sue says, about the experience working with Mark and Bayside Kitchen & Bath, “Mark is very easy-going, very easy to work with, responsible and responsive to his clients’ needs, wants and wishes.” Mark responds, “We try to surround ourselves with trades-people who are responsible.”
When these families wanted a bright Cape Cod look for their kitchens, they all turned to white cabinetry, but each used distinctly different shades; barely ivory, pale hazelnut and a warm winter-white tone. And they all ended up with just what they wanted—a much more functional and much more inviting room that serves as the hub of their homes.
“The layout of the kitchen was very important,” Sue says. The original layout was inconvenient, at best. The sink and stove were set up on opposite sides of the room, forcing the homeowners to ferry heavy pots from one side to the other. And the L-shape layout boxed in the kitchen area with a large, protruding counter, completely separating it from the living room, and making the space look much smaller overall.
