Kitchen & Bath Business - May/June 2017 - 28

Before and After

Time-Honored Design

MAIN KITCHEN

Kitchen renovation blends traditional nuances
with a fresh look and revised floor plan
A SINGLE FATHER WITH A FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD wanted to keep the traditional style and feel of his kitchen in their Florida home, but the layout and
finishes needed a significant update.
"I simply call it 'updated traditional' because we took the good bones of the
home and accentuated them,"said John McClain of John McClain Design in
Orlando. "We stayed true to the character of the house but stripped down the
kitchen to the bare essentials."

PREVIOUS DESIGN ISSUES

The kitchen had not been updated since the home was built in the early 90s,
and the designer said there were the 'usual culprits'of dated design: light-toned
laminate cabinetry, deep paint colors and dated appliances.
"Overall the kitchen cabinet footprint worked, with the exception of an Lshaped counter blocking the entrance to the breakfast nook and an island with
a dropped ceiling overhead,"said McClain.
The client also wanted a larger, more accessible and useable island, as well
as an expansion and better use of the small, unused breakfast nook. And of
course the highly unattractive brick flooring had to go.

ABOVE John McClain and
his design team provided
what he calls a "kicked-up
traditional" renovation to this
dated kitchen, which included
a fresh look with bright Shaker
cabinets and an eye-catching
coﬀered ceiling.

Rustic wooden bar stools and
dark-stained ﬂooring balance
out the white cabinets and
Carrara marble countertops
and backsplash.

BY CHELSIE BUTLER

"An extensive kitchen renovation was needed
to improve the overall function of this kitchen.
Now the traffic flows easily in and around this
space, making cooking and entertaining a breeze.
We love seeing the coffered ceiling detail, as it
immediately adds instant architecture to the
kitchen, which is perfectly suited in this traditional home. Finally, the
beautifully charming tufted banquette is calling our names - making us
want to nestle in and enjoy a morning cup of coffee."
-Guest editors Lori Gilder and Rebecca Reynolds
28

"The kitchen opens to the family room, and the
entire space was floored with brick - red,heavy brick
with a high-gloss poly coating," explained the designer. "The room was also lacking any distinctive
architecture, so I knew that was a problem that also
needed addressing."
IN WITH THE NEW

The first order of business was to get rid of the
aesthetically unpleasing brick flooring. McClain
and his team replaced that with white oak stained in
a dark walnut hue.They also opened up the cabinet
footprint just a tad by removing the L-shaped countertop and providing a natural path to the renovated
breakfast nook.
"A custom-designed white banquette (made of vinyl not leather per the client's request for easy cleaning - especially with a five-year-old's spills) creates
an intimate feeling for a quick meal,"said McClain.
The double wall oven was updated and repositioned from a corner near the refrigerator to a better location next to the sink, and the design team
removed the dropped center ceiling over the island.
"We added a custom coffered ceiling throughout
the entire room, creating instant architecture and
visual interest in the space," said McClain. "I also
knew I wanted to install cans that did not compete
with it,so we used recessed lighting with square trim
and placed all of the lighting directly in the center of
each ceiling square."
Thermador appliances outfit the new space, â
which includes a natural gas cooktop and

Kitchen & Bath Business / MAY-JUNE 2017/ KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)
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Kitchen & Bath Business - May/June 2017

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