Kitchen now in sync after a few tweaks and updates
Jim Buchta, Star Tribune
Project: A kitchen in Chaska.
Positives: Spacious, lots of natural light and an attached deck.
Negatives: Poor furniture placement and dated cabinets and light fixtures.
This large eat-in kitchen offered plenty of open space, but the room felt lopsided and out of proportion compared
with the rest of the house. "The flow between the kitchen and adjoining living room felt very out of sync. Even within the kitchen, there
seemed to be a lot of wasted space," said Lori Matzke of Centerstagehome.com.
To create a better flow between adjacent rooms and to make this kitchen feel fully utilized, here's what Matzke did:
Matzke replaced the old chandelier, which was very dated and had been raised to ceiling height to accommodate the placement of the old table, with a new, brushed chrome and marbled glass lighting fixture purchased for $65. She lowered the new light to create more intimacy at table height and to give the room proportion.
The large square kitchen table, which had been pushed up against the far wall and took up too much space, was moved downstairs to be used as a desk. She replaced the old table with a round patio table from the deck. The round metal table, which was yellow and had a few rust spots, was freshened up with a coat of antique white paint. The proportions of the new table made the space feel balanced and opened up the room.
She removed the top half of the buffet, which blocked the buyer's view from the entry of the room, and used it as a bookcase in a vacant lower-level room . The base of the buffet was moved under a window on the opposite wall to make the space feel more like a dining area.
Dated white ceramic knobs on the cabinets were replaced with brushed chrome knobs to match the light fixture and give the space a sense of continuity.
To allow even more natural light into the space, Matzke cleaned the windows. And a small bamboo lamp that had been in the living room was placed on the buffet to add more light to the far corner of the room.
A large storage chest that had been taking up too much space in front of the living room windows and was too heavy to carry into lower-level storage was brought into the kitchen to even out the furniture proportions between the adjoining rooms. The chest helps make the space feel more balanced. Matzke accessorized it with a bowl of bright tangerines and several cookbooks that make the chest feel more usable.
Strong artwork that drew too much attention away from the positive features of the room was replaced with more understated pieces. Silk greenery softens the decor and adds a touch of color.
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