Kitchen & Bath
Open for Entertainment
This previously basic and boring kitchen got a contemporary makeover — just in time for a grand debut.
BY
Andrea Darr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mike Sinclair

When planning their son’s graduation party, Dan and Cindy Himmelberg didn’t prepare just by cleaning and cooking, they remodeled the kitchen. They had wanted to undertake the project for awhile but needed an impetus. What better way to get themselves moving than knowing they were going to have a house full of guests?

The self-imposed deadline worked. As an architect, Dan drew up the plans himself and acted as the general contractor on the job, getting the “guts” of it done in eight weeks. “Our goal was to get in, get it done, do it right and not have to go back. For the most part, we are happy with everything we did,” he says. His knowledge of the industry and lead times on products helped keep the project on schedule, while Cindy worked to keep them within budget.

The NanaWall, a moveable glass wall, was on order the longest, taking 16 weeks. But it’s a focal point for the space, bringing in natural light and folding back to open the kitchen to the deck, which is another renovation project on the couple’s list and nearly as important to the home in terms of flow and entertaining. “Most people start in the kitchen but they somehow accidentally find themselves outside on the deck,” Cindy says.

To keep the flow continuous inside, Dan removed a structural wall between the kitchen and living room. But the difference in height of the two rooms’ ceilings was so drastic that Dan designed a decorative cherry wood panel that appears to close the gap as well as tie the new space in with the old. In addition to this, he removed a portion of the carpet in the living room and replaced it with a tri-colored maple hardwood that transitions more smoothly into the kitchen.

At the entrance to the kitchen is a custom-designed bar. Cindy was concerned about having the first thing guests see when they enter the home be a place for alcohol, but as a friend told her: “It’s not a bar, it’s a work of art.” It features a liquor turn table with a granite top on stainless steel castors, a hidden shelf for storage, a Kohler fill sink for serving ice and beer, and Dan’s “toy,” a slide touch LED light dimmer with five colors.

Besides this new addition, the original layout of the room stayed much the same, and was simply updated in style with maple cabinets with cherry and black accents, Tan Brown granite countertops and a stone tile backsplash. The family jokes that the palette was inspired by their beagle, Maddie.

The couple did keep their KitchenAid range top and also reinstalled a door and a few of their old cabinets above the washer and dryer in the connecting laundry room to be as ‘green’ as possible. The rest of the kitchen’s materials were deconstructed and donated to Habitat ReStore, where they’ll be resold. Dan also saved all the cardboard packaging from the new products in the garage and recycled it at the end. “We wanted to be thoughtful about the process,” he explains.

Their approach to the project as a whole was successful, giving them a beautiful contemporary kitchen on time, on budget and ready to party: The day of their son’s graduation, 50 guests milled about freely and commented positively on the recent remodel.

Cindy is relieved to have the ordeal done and excited about the future. “I would like to do more entertaining. Now we have a house that works better for it,” she says.

Click here to see "before" pictures of this kitchen remodel.

Resources

• Architect: Xpress Ideas • Builder: Ron-O-Vations • Demolition: Habitat ReStore • Framing, Sheetrock, HVAC, Plumbing, Electric: Ron-O-Vations • Lumber: Existing • Window Wall: NanaWall • Installer: Carter Glass • Sliding Door to Laundry: The Home Depot • Barn Door Hardware: Rally SS slider rail by Wilson Glass • Paint: Behr • Kitchen Cabinets: Direct Buy • Custom Bar Cabinets & Wood Soffit: Icon Fabrications • Granite Countertops: Tan Brown from Brazil - Bedrock International • Installer: The Granite Guy • Appliances: LG, Alexander’s TV & Appliance • Hardware: Locks & Pulls • Tile: Unique Tile & Stone • Hardwood Flooring: Lockwood Flooring Inset Walk-Off Mat: FLOR • Plumbing Fixtures: Bedrock International Bar Faucet: Loki by Brizo • Switches: Lutron • Switch Plates: Atlas Homewares • LED Dimmer at Bar: Vieli by Lutron • Undercounter Lighting: Xenon by Kichler • Soffit Lighting: Super Bright Rope Lighting, Lamps Plus • Pendant Light: ALFA- low voltage halogen, Home Expo • Accent Puck Lights: Hera- low voltage, Home Expo • Accent Can & Can Lights: The Home Depot