Open-Concept Kitchen Redo | Apartment Therapy

Typically you already know you need to change your house, but it surely takes a pair years of dwelling there to determine simply how. Michelle Kraker (@theglamkraker) took that strategy together with her kitchen, an ’80s-style galley house that boasted turquoise-painted cupboards and laminate counter tops. “Not solely did the structure not work, however the design wanted a whole overhaul,” Michelle says.

Her must-haves for the brand new house: a big island, open shelving, and a pot filler. She additionally needed the house to have numerous vivid white finishes and brass touches. After a lot deliberation, Michelle and her husband realized that there was no approach they’d have the ability to get every part they needed into the home’s present structure, so that they determined to increase their home’s footprint and transfer partitions to accommodate the brand new open kitchen of their desires.

Michelle designed the house and her husband constructed it himself, engaged on weekends over the course of a 12 months. Earlier than starting, the couple consulted an engineer to assist them determine what wanted to be achieved structurally to assist the brand new open structure.

From there, they ripped down the partitions, bumped out the kitchen right into a coated storage house to permit for extra sq. footage, redid {the electrical} and plumbing, rearranged the equipment structure, insulated, and drywalled.

That’s the place the enjoyable stuff got here in: new white cupboards and quartz counters, plus Michelle’s requested large island. Brass pulls from Lowe’s and brass lighting fixtures from Bellacor carry some sparkle. Some intelligent methods helped her match up all her brass touches. “I had a very arduous time matching all of my brass fixtures for an affordable value,” Michelle says. “A lot of the gadgets I used to be going for had been all designer and that didn’t work for my funds, and it’s nearly unattainable to inform on-line what the true shade of issues are, so what I did was I made a decision on a very powerful half—the {hardware} for the cupboards. From there, I truly sourced cheaper gadgets that weren’t brass however I spray painted them the precise shade of my {hardware}. As an example, my pendant lights had been initially a lot darker and my shelving brackets had been silver. Not anymore!”

Across the vary, Michelle was in a position to squeeze in her different must-haves: open cabinets and a pot filler. And in the long run, the customized particulars are what made the house really feel so particular. “My favourite half was with the ability to design the house and see my husband actually carry it to life,” Michelle says.

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