Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Quick Cambridge Kitchen Redo!

Not all projects that I am involved with are huge in scope. Remember the Cambridge Workman's Cottage? You can read all about it here. It is a wonderful home that my dear friend, Leonard, renovated. Years before when budgets were tight a simple renovation was done to the kitchen. Here is the before. Cabinets were painted and new stainless appliances were purchased but the kitchen was largely as he had acquired it. In truth I really did not think the kitchen was as awful as Leonard did. Yes, the red counters were bad and I agreed that counter space was limited. Also, the stove seemed strangely out of place with about 24 inches of unused wall to the right. But Leonard's choice of cabinet color was really great. I especially loved how he refused to put in any upper cabinets. It kept the space wonderful and airy.
Here is the after - At first glance not terribly dramatic until you really take a closer look at all the details. First notice the gorgeous apron front soapstone sink and counters. A wonderful addition to a house seeped in history. We also moved the stove under the window and extended the counter to the doorway, this added significant workable counter space. Now he has two longer spaces of counters which definitely allows for more prep area. Drawers were chosen over cabinets for extra storage of pots and pans. The corner cabinet was outfitted with high quality pull outs to maximize the usable interiors. New KWC faucet and Cliffside cabinet hardware latches and pulls added the wonderful accent and ties in the stainless appliances wonderfully.
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Not terribly expensive to do, but a huge impact in terms of workability! And if you take a much closer look, I think you will agree it is an excellent improvement - a kitchen worthy of a house with so much charm and history!

(all photos Willow Decor and not to be used with out permission)

21 comments:

  1. MAJOR improvement. Subtle, but SO effective - well done! x

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  2. The kitchen is fabulous. I think it improved the usability of the kitchen 100 times over. It looks stunning and still belongs to the house. Hugs, marty

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  3. When I fist saw it I was thinking you forgot the 'before' until I really started to look at it, LOL! Great color on the cabinets and I love the exposed brick. It seems like a fun place to make fabulous food and amazing memories!! xo

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  4. Nice changes! I love these Workers Cottage found throughout Boston and Cambridge. They have so much charm.

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  5. I loved the before, but the after is amazing! Great changes and now looking at the two pictures I can see that those changes make a huge difference. What a great space...Very nice! :)

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  6. It is so beautiful and full of character. I love it and want a kitchen just like it!

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  7. Wonderful job, Gina! The sink and the soapstone counters look as if they should have been there forever.
    xo
    Brooke

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  8. So beautiful and great improvments.

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  9. Wonderful transformation!! I love that the character and charm of the original kitchen was maintained...

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  10. So nice to see that even some simple, thoughtful changes can have such a big impact in overall look and functionality! Great post!

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  11. What fun! I just found your blog - fabulous!

    Cheers,
    Kate
    www.partyresources.blogspot.com

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  12. Fabulous kitchen! I'd love to see the rest of the house.

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  13. Came here from Veranda Interiors and can't wait now to look through the rest of your site! Absolutely beautiful what you've done with the kitchen. Just gorgeous.

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  14. Something beautiful just became even more beautiful! A question re the oven: I don't detect any fan or hood. Is there a venting system, or is one not needed?

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  15. Gina, beautiful kitchen and yes I can see your influence! The kitchen not only flows better and is more workable it also feels more updated without looking contrived. I love it.

    And the combination of the brick, the rustic beams, the gray cabinets & the stainless appliances = perfection!

    Bravo!

    Love to you, Mon

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  16. Absolutely stunning! Definite inspiration...
    thanks for sharing. The images on your blog always inspire me.

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  17. I agree, it seems subtle at first, but the changes are so good looking! Sweet home!

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  18. An intelligent "makeover" Gina!
    Building on what is good and making it great takes smarts. Kudos
    Happy Weekend,
    Donna

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  19. It is really amazing. We can sure get inspiration about the kitchen very well through above images. All the appliance , floor color and cabinets are really stick at right place. I hope that I will also make my kitchen as same as you shown.

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  20. I love the soapstone sink, and having the stove under the window is great....pretty grey for the cabinets as well!

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  21. Moving the stove under the window is a brilliant idea. Now if you need to stir something for a long time you might as well enjoy a nice view out of the window as you are doing it. Too bad I don't have an extra window in my kitchen otherwise I would do the same.

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