A Dream Kitchen
(For everyone).

(Click on each photo for a full-sized version. Match captions left to right.)

This project was by far the one of the most rewarding that we have had the pleasure of doing. Our clients were great to work with. We were involved early on so we had a strong insight into what they really wanted. Even though the existing kitchen was more than acceptable by most peoples' standards it just didn't please our clients. In addition, the existing "Family Room" was too small and in order to get to the Library you had to walk all the way around the house. In order to install the French doors the existing full bath and adjacent closet had to be removed. Since we removed the full bath a new half-bath was to be created in a hall closet. A budget was established and off we went.

Unfortunately several unforeseen situations developed that pushed us past the original budget but the final product more than justified the added costs. For example, when we opened the French door wall there were about 25 wires in the way. They had to be pulled all the way up from the electrical panel through the wall and re-fed around the new door opening. A waste pipe also had to be removed. When we pulled the existing family room ceiling down it was then decided to pull the existing kitchen ceiling down also in order to eliminate the possibility of cracks. After the entire ceiling was down we could then create a recessed lighting plan without restrictions. We wound up installing twenty-eight recessed lights vs. the six that were originally planned.

One regret is not having any real "before" pictures. The suspicion is that the camera was lost because we distinctly remember taking them. The same holds true with the completion pictures with the tile backsplash installed.



1 - Full bath and kitchen removed. 2 - Fireplace direction installing blueboard. 3 - View facing new kitchen area. Originally we were going to patch around the existing ceiling but were worried about the potential for cracks developing. After the bathroom and closet were removed we had to install 19' microlam beams for added support.


4 - Here's a view facing the kitchen area after the blueboard ceiling is completed. 5 - The same view as #4 but with skim coat plaster applied. 6 - This is a view of the stove corner. (Sorry about the dust on the lens but this is the only view of this area we have.) Notice the hardwood flooring pile during the acclamation period.


7 - The exit from the kitchen to the hallway. 8 - The finished floor toward the kitchen area. 9 - Here is a shot of the 90 degree turn of the flooring featuring a herring bone pattern.




10 - Finished floor looking toward the zero clearance fireplace. 11 - The big day! The cabinets arrived. Chris Zarse from New Hampshire was the cabinetmaker. 12 - The refrigerator was the first cabinet to be installed. Also notice the new entry door.




13 - Here we have most of the cabinets as the island comes together. 14 - When we began there was no opening from the family room to the library. In order to get from one to the other you had to go all the way around the house. Therefore the French door was a great design element. 15 - This is a great shot of the finished kitchen without the marble tops and tile backsplash.




16 - Also taken just before tops and backsplash were installed. 17 - Finally the marble arrived. 18 - Here is a nice view of the finished French doors and zero clearance fireplace completed.




19 - This view is taken from inside the library looking toward the family room through the French doors. Notice the bookshelf painting above the doors. 20 - We had to install a half bath in a closet and here it is after the blueboard was applied. 21 - This is the half bath finished.

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