Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2019 - 46

Balanced Budget

A designer applied value engineering to a mid-century

In addition to making the space larger, another
goal was to make it brighter. This was accomplished by adding additional windows at the sink
and reframing the ceiling to add a skylight, which
created a well directly set above the kitchen island.
The skylight not only gives the kitchen a more
spacious feel, but it adds an angular architectural
element that enhances the overall area.
Additional lighting fixtures suspended over the
new 35-sq.-ft. island feature exposed bulbs, which
Le says caters to the mid-century modern feel.
"We kept the design palette very simple and
created accents with natural materials such as steel
and wood," he added.
The appliances, for example, are stainless steel,
as is the range hood, which provides a stark contrast to the walnut perimeter of the island, the walnut floating shelves and the walnut open display
shelves sandwiched between a closed pantry and
the oven wall. Chrome knobs, pulls and fixtures
also stand out against the white cabinetry.
"The biggest 'before and after' is the openness
of the space and how much brighter it is where we
added more windows and oriented them and the
skylight to an area [with ample sunlight],"said Le.

modern kitchen and bath

CONTROLLING COSTS

Limiting Expenditures

SINGLE-FAMILY, FARMHOUSE-STYLE HOME in Sunnyvale,

Calif., needed a complete overhaul.The kitchen, especially, was the primary area in which the homeowners
needed a major renovation, as it was not only dated but
was also dark and too small to accommodate a crowd.
"The house was very boxy, and all the rooms were
divided and separated," said Kyle Le, senior interior
designer at Timeline Design + Build in Saratoga,
Calif. "They wanted to turn the home into a contemporary farmhouse with
a mid-century vibe and an open floor plan.The main elements are simplicity,
clean lines and embracing the use of natural materials."
The designer said the homeowner herself has an architectural background
and dove in to help the team come up with a floor plan and a workable design
that emphasized simplicity and featured modern elements.
IMPROVING THE KITCHEN

Le and his team had to change the existing footprint to accommodate the
client's vision for her kitchen. They enlarged the space from 135 square feet
to 225 square feet by incorporating the adjacent guest bedroom and using
it for the kitchen. The former location was closer to the garage, but now it
is more centralized in the house - opening up to the new family room and
dining areas.

ABOVE Clean and simple
lines combined with a neutral
palette are in keeping with the
mid-century modern design
of the kitchen. The original
plan called for a powder room
next to the kitchen but had to
be disbanded because of the
budget, so it was turned into a
pantry instead.
TOP RIGHT The ceiling well over

The budget for the whole-house project was about
$450,000, which included everything from appliances to painting to construction costs. The
kitchen portion of the budget was about $200,000,
while the bathroom was closer to $50,000.
Le managed to keep the budget to its original estimate by making a few changes to the plans and employing a lot of value engineering, a means of maximizing the project's function while minimizing â
the cost. In this case, for example, keeping the

the kitchen island opens up the
room while allowing sunlight to
stream in.

RIGHT Handmade tile in a
funky geometric pattern
transforms a blank wall into
a feature wall while adding a
touch of whimsy.

BY HILARY DANINHIRSCH

Kitchen & Bath Business / JANUARY 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)

http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2019

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