Mid Century Modern Kitchen Design: Part of a whole home renovation
To begin our online design process for this whole home reno we started with space planning to rework the house’s floor plan incorporating a lot of updates and changes beyond just the kitchen and addressing bathrooms, stairs, closets and entry foyer. Once the new house floor plan was finalized we established the desired aesthetic look and created a new palette of general finishes and millwork in that style which would be used throughout the house. Now with a new master floor plan and interior finishes scheme for the house - we focused on developing the kitchen design.
Here’s a look at the old kitchen floor plan (below). The narrow rectangular room was an eat-in galley kitchen, configured with one end of the room dedicated to a kitchen table and chairs. The kitchen was separated from the adjacent great room except for the double sided firebox and single doorway into the kitchen from the living area. The property is a lush green lot and the house sits surrounded by large mature trees and shrubs, a small park-like oasis in the heart of the city.
The goal of the kitchen renovation was to transform it into a bright and airy space using warm whites and light wood tones in a contemporary style, all to compliment the home’s original MCM architecture as well as; open it up more to the great room and the outdoors, increase counters and storage, and replace the outdated appliances and finishes. Overall, make the kitchen more efficient to cook in and more inviting and comfortable to hangout in.
In reworking the layout we flipped the fridge and range positions, putting the flat top range and sink on the same wall creating a continuous in-line prep-cook-clean workspace, and the fridge and microwave on the opposite wall next to a counter with pantry storage and beverage and breakfast staples. We typically review the proposed spacial configuration in a black and white sketch first (like above) before we begin applying the finishes and materials. Before finalizing those finishes we’ll explore a couple of different schemes to find the best combination.
Our digital rendering program gives us the option of loosely adding colour before refining the material choices and rendering in further detail. This is a suggestive interpretation that can assist with visualizing the palette before some of the main details are decided on like cabinet door style or tile size and shape. Most often we use a watercolour rendering to accompany the proposed material selections particularly to illustrate how we recommend if two or three tones of cabinetry is to be applied.
Once the materials and finishes palette has been agreed on, we proceed with applying those to the full design and generating the photo-like perspective views.
Two priorities for this kitchen were to maintain an eating area for morning coffee and casual meals, as well as keep the double-sided fireplace. For dining we proposed they expand the current window and we created a cozy corner banquet below it, situated adjacent to the fireplace and sleekly integrated with built-in storage. The fireplace was given a complete redesign converting it from wood burning to a linear gas model and extending it full-height cladding it with new floor to ceiling stone-look tile and finished with a floating wood mantle on the Living Room side.
Design features in the new kitchen include:
increased counter space
increased cabinetry
increased cabinet storage with full access
full width all glass walk-out to exterior deck
integrated appliances
corner banquet
dedicated coffee/drinks/snacks zone
open display shelving
double sided linear gas fireplace
We worked within the existing kitchen footprint to create the new layout, the most impactful changes to the space were achieved by enlarging doors and windows, and reconfiguring the appliance locations using new more integrated models.
The resulting effect of the changes created a more efficient and functional kitchen that’s flooded with natural light, and feels more open to the great room and more connected to the outdoors with expanded views of the treed property.
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Blog Author
Carol Reed | Interior Designer
Carol has been a practicing Interior Designer for over 28 years, focusing on residential interiors since 2005 as Principal of Carol Reed Interior Design Inc. Her work has been featured in Canadian House & Home, Style at Home and Canadian Home Trends magazines among others and frequently contributes as a design expert for their various editorial content. Honoured to be included in House & Home Magazines Top 100 Canadian Designers list.