Featured Designer: LauraJon "LJ" Cornel, of JohnCookKitchens
European style influenced the design of this updated kitchen. Classic black and creamy white colors, paired with wrought iron accents reinforce the look. Tea set provided by Tea At 1024.
|
Orange carpets, dark Spanish tile, paisley wallpaper—that’s how Corrine and Bob Taylor’s Portlock home looked when they bought it 30 years ago. It was all very ’70s. Over the years, Corrine worked on updates by painting the cabinets a lighter shade and replacing the wallpaper with a natural grass cloth. But late last summer, it was time for a more significant overhaul.
Corrine loved the showroom at JohnCookKitchens and started talking with designer LauraJon “LJ” Cornel. The Taylors’ home has a unique Spanish style, with lots of exposed red brick, stucco and wrought iron, and Corrine wanted a European-style kitchen that would stay true to that flavor.
Their first thought was to simply reface the existing cabinets. But this would pose significant challenges when it came to properly lining them up. They also realized that a complete overhaul would mean they could tackle the kitchen’s drop ceiling, which made the space feel cramped.
So designer and homeowner opted to gut the entire kitchen and start from scratch.
The result? In place of the dark room sits an airy, modern space.
While the kitchen retains its old footprint, it now seems much more spacious, thanks in large part to the ceiling, which was raised to 8 feet and finished in a lighter color. Cornel opened up the area even more by removing a bank of cupboards that ran between the kitchen and the living area. Three elegant pendant lights now hang in the space.
The dark Spanish floor tile made way for a creamy travertine, which flows out into the entryway and other living areas. The countertop is a sleek granite in Absolute Black. While a black and white palette can risk feeling sterile, the kitchen evokes plenty of warmth thanks to the choice of whites, the earthy tones of the natural tile and the glow from the pendant lights.
The new cabinets are a frameless European style accented with a twisted wrought iron handle that Corrine tracked down online. Corrine and Cornel also got creative with the backsplash. Corrine wanted something different that brought in the feel of the wrought iron used elsewhere in the home.
“We couldn’t find what we needed, so we made something,” Cornel says.
They used custom-cut pieces of the floor tile and the countertop with a third decorative tile to create the framed look Corrine wanted. “It was fun,” Cornel says.
“It’s so nice,” Corrine says of her new kitchen. Then she adds with a laugh, “At first I was kind of scared to use it.” No doubt she has grown quite comfortable in her new, marvelous space since its renovation.
