Transitional Kitchen and Mudroom Renovation Middleton, Wis.

Our clients, Robert and Rosalie, are recently retired professors. When we first met them, they split their time between their Middleton, Wisconsin home and teaching in England. Their Middleton townhome was built in the 80s and needed an update. The kitchen was inefficient, with an unused peninsula and a deep refrigerator that stuck out into the space. The couple wanted a kitchen and mudroom renovation. They asked us to redesign and improve the kitchen's functionality, improve the front entry/mudroom, and remove a corner fireplace to make room for a dining area.

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Reimagining the Kitchen with Plenty of Storage

Once we repositioned the appliances, it freed up space to create a unique pantry solution for the homeowners. Redesigning the cabinetry was a fun challenge. When we moved the range, we were able to replace it with a more efficient cabinet system. We created a slightly shallower pantry than the standard 24-inch base cabinets. Our custom 18-inch deep pantry allowed for more accessible storage since items could not get lost in the back of the cabinet.

The original kitchen suffered from an inefficient layout. It was a U-shaped kitchen with a poorly placed range and a rarely used peninsula. Robert and Rosalie were happy with the general size of the kitchen, but the existing cabinetry and design were poor. We started by strategically placing the appliances and moving the range, hood, and refrigerator for an improved flow. Next, we began to design the cabinetry. We removed the soffits to extend the upper cabinets to the ceiling for more storage and to give the space a more modern look and feel. To complete our design, we incorporated a circular seating area at the end of the peninsula.

Improving the Front Entry and Mudroom

The second part of this kitchen mudroom renovation was the redesign of the small door-filled front entry/mudroom. The existing space was a small square room with the front door on one wall, a garage entry door on one side, a bi-fold closet door on the other, and a door into the home on the back wall. The garage entry and front door could not be moved. The door into the house from the front entry functioned as an airlock. It functioned as an airlock to keep the environment inside of the home stable, lowering energy consumption and costs. That left the bi-fold door into the closet. Our final design removed the closet and installed a mudroom bench and a tall cabinet for coat storage. Our simple solution made the space feel larger and added functionality.

This bathroom and mudroom remodel results in much better flow throughout the home, from the front entry to the kitchen to the new dining area while maintaining and improving energy efficiency. Robert and Rosalie can now look forward to retirement in their newly remodeled home!