One Room Challenge: Kitchen Plans!

The Spring 2024 One Room Challenge is here! We are planning to have the kitchen, pass-through and powder room area gutted–taking out doors, moving walls…it’s going to be epic. I’ve made no secret of the fact that we’ve been planning this since shortly after we moved into the house in September. So, let’s get to the kitchen plans!

Current State

Tell me you live in a 90s house without telling me you live in a 90s house.

Don’t get me wrong. I love wood details in houses. I just don’t love everything being the same color of orange from one surface to the next. Annnnd…because it’s an older home that has all the original cabinets, the hinges have not held up well. There’s no guarantee that trying to open a door won’t result in the door just coming right off the cabinet.

It’s time.

The Kitchen Plans

Here are the plans for this kitchen remodel.

Left Side of the Kitchen

The french door setup on the left side will be replaced with wall. The soffit will be removed. Then, there will be base cabinets running all along that wall–about 200 inches worth! Wall cabinets will be ceiling height on each side, with three large windows centered on the wall. Cabinets are the Reading “painted linen” from American Woodmark. The windows are Marvin in black with a four-block grid.

Peninsula Turned Island

The peninsula will essentially be turned sideways, creating an island instead of the current layout. The new island is projected to be approximately 8 feet long and 62 inches wide. It will have back to back cabinetry. One side will feature day-to-day access. The other side will have storage cabinetry tucked underneath the island where there is seating and an overhang. There will be seating in an “L” shape along one side and the end closest to the living room. The island is “maple latte” from American Woodmark.

Countertops have not been ordered yet, but we have our hearts set on Cambria’s Berkshire Brass in High Gloss. The sticking point is the backsplash…we *think* we are going up the wall with the quartz. Still deciding.

Lighting, Seating, Hardware

I have ideas about what lighting, seating and hardware I want for this space, but I’m waiting on a bit more progress to be made before final decisions.

Right Side of the Kitchen

This area is being pushed back to make sight lines flush from the hallway behind the kitchen. Right now, when you walk into the house from the garage and laundry room. you basically run into the side of the fridge. This opens the space up to make room for our large island and seating.

The Pantry

On the other side of the fridge, there is an hallway pass-through to the original dining room, which we use as a den/office/lego room. The pass-through will be closed off. This will now be a small walk-in pantry.

The Powder Room

This hallway also leads to the powder room, which is located right now behind the fridge. It’s the biggest powder room I’ve ever seen–not really, but it’s a complete waste of space. It will be shifted over and made much smaller–similar to the powder room at our other house. The toilet area will be about the same, with a wall being built on the right side of the toilet. The wall on the left is now the back of our hallway closet, which will be removed for a small vanity to be placed. The fridge will be recessed back into this space, resting where the current vanity is in this picture.

The Mood Board

Putting together a mood board is always such a fun aspect of designing a new space.

The Schedule

Demo Day is planned for Monday, April 8th.

Construction begins Tuesday, April 9th.

All of the cabinetry, kitchen plumbing (fixtures and elements), and doors have been delivered. We are waiting on the windows. Yikes.

The appliances will be GE Monogram. Hubs needs to get this order finalized, ASAP!

We have to order the countertops, lighting, hardware, and seating. No pressure, Juliette.

I also have to start thinking about window treatments–I am, after all, The Shady Gal 🙂 Because these are black trim windows, I have to look at inspiration for which window coverings look best on black trim windows. I *may* have written that article. lol

In preparation for this, I am in the midst of removing EVERYTHING from the hall closet, the kitchen cabinets, the current pantry and the powder room.

Phew. The chaos has begun. Follow along on Instagram to see the latest!