Overcoming Kitchen Problems

Problem #1: Lots of space and high ceilings.

While large kitchens have all the space you’ll ever need, dividing it up into manageable portions is hard. “Fortunately, I had a client who believes in having only one focal point in the room, which in this case, is the limestone mantle hood we created over the range,” says Dave Smith, of HDH Cabinets and Design.

Smith used several strategies, including creating a separate butler’s pantry off the main kitchen space, containing a second dishwasher, a second large copper farmhouse sink, copper countertops, a wine chiller, pantry and cabinets which served as a built-in display area for the client’s extensive collection of crystal, china and antique linens. He kept most of the cabinets below countertop level to create open spaces with a clear sightline to the adjoining living room, he says. The very large, 72-inch refrigerator was covered with matching wood panels to tone down its impact. Triple-stack crown molding with black accents joined the cabinets to the high ceiling. The understated kitchen island with a black finish provided an important visual break, too.

Problem #2: No room for an island, and short on storage space.

What do you do when you really want an island with seating, and the floor plan doesn’t allow it? Create a thin, asymmetrical island that juts the seating area just past the rest of the cabinets.

“My client wanted lots of detail in the cabinetry, so everywhere we could, we added embellishments like columns, corbels and extra molding to make it look more like free standing furniture,” says Smith. He used an eggshell finish to unify all the cabinetry combined with toile wallpaper in a cheerful cobalt blue and white. The tight proportions of the room were offset by the varying heights of the upper cabinets.

“But the most impressive part of this kitchen is the sheer variety of materials that were used in the wall separating the living room from the kitchen. It was an archway, buffet, china cabinet and curio all in one,” says Smith.

Problem #3: A very long, very open space.

“The real challenge of this kitchen was to create a flowing space while maintaining a sense of separation between the kitchen and the adjacent rooms,” says Smith.

“First, don’t feel compelled to make the cabinets attach to the room’s architecture. So the cabinets don’t go up to the ceiling, and the cabinets don’t crowd the windows and important fixtures. Second, resist the temptation to make the island too big.”

Details make the space special, like popping up the height of the sink and range, repeating circular windows, using light wood for the cabinets, creating an elegant wood hood and tile work, and using furniture-like accents.

Problem #4: A very small kitchen space that is also a default entryway and dining room.

“It is the first room visible when you enter the home, so it needed to be a showstopper,” Smith says. Kitchens like these can be fixed with a room divider of dark cherry cabinets that incorporated beams and columns, stocked with drawers for pots, pans and trays. The kitchen’s island can be designed with contrasting off-white cabinets, with pull out spice rack inserts, and fluted legs as embellishments. This type of design can open up into a dining area.

“This design is very today, very modern,” says Smith. “The combination of the dark, contemporary cabinets with the unusual river rock backsplash and the granite counters really makes the kitchen look larger. “