Tiny Kitchen Reworked – How space expands and becomes more playful

Brady Architectural Photography
Designer: Lee Austin, Design Studio West

Adding much-needed space to a tiny, dark kitchen without a complete home remodel was the best way to achieve the homeowners’ goals of a more workable kitchen with quality appliances. A breakfast bar and more counter space were also on the list of needs.

The solution was removing interior redwood lath and plaster walls and ceiling and incorporating an adjacent space into the kitchen. A small addition also was built onto the end of the kitchen.
More design improvements included:

• Relocating the appliances
• Adding a playful pattern of bright yellow and blue tiles as a backsplash
• Replacing 2-by-2-inch blue tiles with a new granite counter
• Cantilevering a countertop over cabinets to create breakfast bar
• Adding recessed fluorescent ceiling cans fixtures for natural light and energy conservation
• Using ribbon mahogany for its interesting grain on cabinets
• Pegging the corners of each door panel to build up stain and produce color depth and interest.