Becky Harris
A kitchen remodel expands to become a first-floor renovation — improving views, flow, storage and function.
This kitchen serves as the true hub of this busy family’s home. “As soon as we touched the kitchen, everything else got involved,” says interior designer Cynthia Soda. The new modern-country style of the kitchen spread to the dining room, hallway, entrances, mudroom, staircase and family room. The owners’ love of the warmth of reclaimed wood was a strong influence on the design, while Soda laid things out for the best possible functionality and views to the backyard.
Before Photo
“After” photos by Stephani Buchman Photography
Kitchen of the Week
Who lives here: A couple and their twins
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Size: 315 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Cynthia SodaBEFORE: The kitchen was open to a dining room (to the left of this photo) and a long family room space (to the right). Designer Cynthia Soda opened more of the left side, flip-flopped some rooms, created an addition and reconfigured spaces to create a pantry, mudroom, craft area and new entrances.
Kitchen of the Week
Who lives here: A couple and their twins
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Size: 315 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Cynthia SodaBEFORE: The kitchen was open to a dining room (to the left of this photo) and a long family room space (to the right). Designer Cynthia Soda opened more of the left side, flip-flopped some rooms, created an addition and reconfigured spaces to create a pantry, mudroom, craft area and new entrances.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
We don’t have a perfectly matched angle, but if you were to look through the left hand opening in the previous photo, this is what you’d see today.A nearly 6-foot-square island serves as a hub-within-the-hub for work and socializing. “A large island serves as a great drop zone and middle ground between all of the appliances,” Soda says. “These days our kitchens have so many more appliances — wall-mounted ovens, a range, a microwave, beverage stations — an island in the middle is a great way to tie it all together.” The island is also chock-full of storage.Stools: Restoration Hardware
Before Photo
BEFORE: This was the existing view from the family room into the kitchen. The new island is now located about where the breakfast bar was before.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
The work area is at the far end of the kitchen and includes the range and refrigerator. A dishwasher and garbage bin are hidden on either side of the sink.Wall color: Revere Pewter; cabinet and trim color: Chantilly Lace; island color: Storm Cloud Gray, all by Benjamin Moore
Soda Pop Design Inc.
The island also helps to zone the kitchen and separate guests from the work area. “When you’re entertaining, everyone winds up in the kitchen, but you want them out of the way,” Soda says. So placing this beverage station on the other side of the island from the work zone means guests can prepare coffee or grab a glass of wine while the cook preps on the other side of the island.Another little detail you can see here is that Soda raised the countertops from the standard 36-inch height to 38 inches because one of the homeowners is very tall. She gained the 2 inches by raising the toe kicks so the cabinets could remain standard size. Leaded glass upper cabinets help the beverage station stand out.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
The lack of pendant lights and chandeliers was a strategic decision. “Between his tall height, the higher cabinets and the low ceiling, we didn’t want to obstruct the views to the backyard,” Soda says. “Plus, less is more — there are enough textures going on in here and we didn’t want it to get out of hand.” Instead, she installed undercabinet lighting and strategically placed pot lights.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
“It was important to the homeowners to add warmth through the reclaimed wood,” Soda says. The reclaimed hemlock on the countertop lends a sense of age and history to the new kitchen. Traditional black metal hardware and stools and Shaker-style cabinetry add country style.“At first they were adamant about going off-white on the cabinets instead of white, but after we ran through every possible color, they decided white was best.” White keeps a crisper, more modern look that balances the textures, reflects the light better and lets the gray-green of the island stand out.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
Soda also brought in warmth via a cultured stone backsplash. It has a color palette similar to the new brick veneer in the family room addition.The homeowners found the black hardware at Ikea. “If you mix higher- and lower-end items right, the whole thing winds up looking high-end,” Soda says. The Shaker cabinets are custom and the perimeter countertops are a dark leathered granite, a modern update on the soapstone typically seen in farmhouse kitchens.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
On the right side of this photo you can catch a glimpse of the new mudroom off the front door.
BEFORE: The previous kitchen is shown here in the lower center of the plan. The old dining room is in the horizontal rectangle above it. The previous family room extended from the kitchen peninsula to the far left side of the plan.
AFTER: Soda could see that the existing dining room would better serve as a family room, enhancing the connection to the backyard.The dining room is now located on the far left. In between, Soda reconfigured the old family room space into a craft area flanked by hallways. You can also see the new mudroom at the bottom of the plan, and the new pantry and revealed staircase toward the top right.“Sometimes as you’re working on a plan, there’s a language and it just starts to talk to you — it’s like putting a puzzle together,” Soda says.
Before Photo
BEFORE: This is the dining room in its old spot adjacent to the kitchen.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
Soda saw that this was the perfect spot for the family room instead.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
Part of the family room is an addition, which pushed the house further into the backyard. Enjoying the views of the beautiful yard was a priority for the family. A new glass wall overlooks the pool. The brick veneer wall is new and extends over to the beverage station, helping to marry the kitchen and family room. So do the reclaimed-hemlock floors, which cover the entire first floor.While a sectional sofa was in Soda’s original plans, the homeowners fell in love with the idea of the two swivel chairs she’d picked for them, and decided to go for a more traditional sofa and a set of four swivel chairs. This way the users can swivel around to be part of the conversation in the kitchen or turn back toward the backyard view.The homeowners were very hands-on and helped the project evolve throughout the process. They’re handy too: One of the homeowners made the live-edge table under the TV himself. They found the coffee tables while traveling, but when they placed them in the room, they thought they had too much blue in them, so they sanded them down themselves.
Before Photo
BEFORE: Soda completely reconfigured the area where the dark leather furniture sat before. The kitchen peninsula is gone, there’s a new mudroom on the right, and she carved out room for a craft/homework station for the twins to the left.(If you’re struggling to match up the before and after, orient yourself via the refrigerator, which stayed in approximately the same place, and the windows over the sink, because this gets a little tricky to follow.)
Soda Pop Design Inc.
This photo was taken from around the same spot as the previous one, standing in what is now the dining room. Soda created a new craft/homework area in between two walls flanked by hallways that lead to the kitchen.The cabinet was a piece the clients already had and wanted to use, so Soda created this recess for it. The dining room table is opposite the cabinet.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
Sliding barn doors made of reclaimed hemlock can be pulled close to hide the craft/homework area when not in use. These doors were inspired by the country look of the kitchen. There are two stations for the twins tucked in between the two hallways.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
On the back side of the craft area is this reclaimed-wood wall, which has more gray tones in it. This wall is the first thing people see after entering through the front door and new mudroom.
Soda Pop Design Inc.
The dining room is now down at the other end of the two hallways from the kitchen. Since this room is used less than the family room, it was a smart decision to move it. There’s still an easy flow between the dining room and kitchen, it’s just a slightly longer walk.The homeowners already had the dining table and chairs but are searching for a larger table. They added the host and hostess chairs to mix things up and add pattern. The mural is framed wallpaper, a last-minute compromise. Originally, the wallpaper was supposed to cover the whole wall. “My clients just couldn’t commit to the whole wall, but the large-scale piece was a great solution,” Soda says.Wallpaper: NewWall
Soda Pop Design Inc.
This staircase area off the kitchen and family room was another part of the renovation. Soda opened it up and added the rustic structural post, wrought iron railing and built-in bench. The pantry is just out of view to the left.