Adding Open Shelving to an Older Kitchen

Kitchen cabinets makeovers don’t always have to be full gut jobs. Sometimes updating a kitchen by removing cabinets, painting them, and adding a new countertops makes it brand new. Adding open shelving to an older kitchen can be a great way to open up the area around a window and make it feel not so heavy. At the Hillcrest House, we did exactly that.

Working with Existing Kitchen Cabinets

The clients wanted to update their kitchen without doing a full gut job. We decided they would keep their existing kitchen cabinets since they were such high quality, and  also lower the height of the island so it was one level. It had one of those bar height ledges that felt dated.

Keeping Raw Unpainted Brick

I know the current trend can be to paint any brick, but the clients loved their brick, and we decided to keep that the raw brown, neutral color. The floors were also getting refinished to a darker stain to make it seem more updated through the rest of the house. The kitchen itself  is huge and had a great layout.

A Digital Mock Up

They even have this extra coffee bar and pantry area that offered great storage. The real question was, how do we update this  kitchen, because even if the cabinets are painted, they still felt heavy and dated to me with their staggered height. I did a digital mock up for them to show them what it would look like without the cabinets there. This was super quick and not with my normal software, so they are a little rough but it gives a general idea.

Talking about Storage in the Kitchen before Removing Cabinets

I asked them how they used their storage and how they felt about removing the cabinets on each side of the window and adding some pretty open shelving there. The window is  gorgeous, but it felt like it was lost to me and like it was heavy, flanked by so many dark cabinets. Those two on each side of the window made the room feel shorter too. They had plenty of storage, so removing them wasn’t an issue. I did a quick mock up for them so they could see how they looked with them gone. We actually removed cabinets in our own kitchen renovation over 10 years ago and replaced it with a free-standing piece of furniture. We were able to get the same amount of storage with a more custom look for a fraction of the price.

Painting the Existing Cabinets White

It took a while to do the entire kitchen renovation, but once it was done, it looked amazing! I was so happy they took those cabinets down! The homeowners said everyone who comes in asks them if they had a new window put in. No one noticed it before and by opening it up it makes it a focal point and the kitchen is so much brighter and welcoming!

The Final Kitchen Look

By removing the tall part of the island and making the counter one height really accents the space and make it feels so open. Plus, losing that weird ledge gives the island so much more usable prep space! We also changed out the lighting and they added a farmhouse style sink and new countertops and backsplash.

I always love this part of the renovation process, when everything comes together! Painting the cabinets in the little pantry area also really brightened it up.

It really looks fantastic with the heirloom table and chair set they have.

I love the island color, and  the rustic contrast of the brick too. It’s nice to not have everything just be white, and gives it some depth.  It is such a great kitchen transformation!

If you liked this post, you might also like:

Mini-dining room makeover

Painting bottom cabinets dark green

White painted brick fireplace makeover

 

i