A 1990s Home Gets An Open Concept Kitchen Remodel

Before and After Images of an Open Concept Kitchen Remodel in a Transitional Design Style

From a small, closed kitchen to an open concept. See the before and after pictures of this transformational open concept kitchen remodel.

We first met Annette, Mark, and their family six years ago when we did a basement renovation on their DeForest, Wisconsin home. At that time, they also asked us to help them plan for future bathroom renovations. While they haven’t yet returned for the bathroom renovation, they called us to transform their living space with an open concept kitchen remodel.

The original kitchen and dinette area was small and isolated from the living area. Their home featured a typical 1990s enclosed design, which was dated and inefficient. It did not meet the family’s lifestyle and needs.

See how we transformed this dated, inefficient kitchen into a modern, functional space with our open concept kitchen remodel

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Before Kitchen Remodel

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After Kitchen Remodel

An All-Around Bad Layout

The existing kitchen was inefficient and featured a bad layout. Annette and Mark’s house was small, but a dividing wall cut off the kitchen and dinette from the main living area, making the first floor feel smaller than it really is.

Inside the kitchen/dinette area, the layout was inefficient. The kitchen stretched across the dividing wall with a single pass-through providing a visual from the kitchen to the living room. The refrigerator was placed at the end of the kitchen, the door opening into the wall. Directly adjacent to the refrigerator was a single pantry cabinet.

The dinette was also in the kitchen, making it feel even more cramped. Just like the kitchen, it was inconvenient and inefficient. It was located between two nice, tall windows; there just wasn’t enough space. Because of the wall dividing the space from the rest of the main living area, there wasn’t much natural light. The shades of the windows were kept closed for privacy, preventing the southern sun from flooding into the home.

A Straightforward Solution

Our main design concept was straightforward: remove the dividing wall. This was the first step towards an open concept kitchen remodel. Removing the wall opened the kitchen to the main floor living space and increased the size of the kitchen. Once we removed the wall, it was time to address the layout. We needed to rearrange the appliances and figure out where to place the sink. We sat with the homeowners, and after several design iterations, we all settled on the couple’s ideal layout.

Our design relocated all of the appliances. The original kitchen was placed along the inside dividing wall. After we removed the dividing wall, we flipped the layout to the exterior wall. Next, we removed the dinette and shortened the original dinette windows, allowing us to place the sink in front of the windows.

In place of the dinette, we added a large island with seating for the family and cabinetry to maximize storage in the kitchen. Making the windows smaller might seem counterintuitive, but as a result, the windows can stay uncovered since there is no longer a privacy issue. The smaller windows flood the space with natural light, making the entire living space bright and cheerful.

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Before Kitchen Remodel

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After Kitchen Remodel

Choosing Fixtures and Finishes for A Classy, Transitional Look

Our goal when choosing fixtures and finishes was to keep the design transitional, classy, updated, and beautiful! For the flooring, we chose a durable Southern Oak LVP flooring. This perfectly complements the dark-stained alder cabinetry and off-white quartz countertops. We included frosted glass doors near the range's upper cabinets to add a classy visual focal point.

The speed oven provides a secondary oven when needed, and the tall pull-out pantry cabinet offers all-sided access for convenient storage. Adding base cabinets on the back side of the island adds extra storage for lesser-used kitchen items like holiday platters and small appliances.

The main floor became much brighter after removing the dividing wall and shortening the kitchen windows. The final step of our open concept kitchen remodel was to overhaul the lighting plan. We chose a classy linear chandelier for over the island and added in multiple recessed LED lights. We replaced the old flush-mount fixtures with new coordinating fixtures, and we updated and replaced the living room ceiling fan.

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Before Kitchen Remodel

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After Kitchen Remodel

The Result Of This Open Concept Kitchen Remodel

Our open concept kitchen remodel accomplished all the homeowner’s goals. We opened the living space to the kitchen, changed the inefficient kitchen layout into a high-functioning workspace, improved the storage options in the kitchen, and gave the family a new functional gathering spot to enjoy family dinners. The result? A kitchen remodel and main floor that fits the whole family, provides them with a kitchen that can be worked in and plenty of space to cook!

Are you considering a kitchen remodel or any other home improvement projects? Whether a kitchen remodel, a bathroom update, or any other project, let us help you create a new look and design for your home! If you live in the Greater Madison area, call the experts at Degnan Design-Build-Remodel at (608) 846-5963. We can take your home to the next level of comfort, design, and function! Are you ready to learn more? We are always happy to answer your questions.