Redone to perfection - kitchens

Sunset, Feb, 1997 by Ann Bertelsen, Daniel Gregory, Peter O. Whiteley

Recipes for turning ordinary kitchens into specialties of the house

Your old kitchen is a room full of nots: not enough space, not enough light, not enough storage, not enough style. So how do you get beyond the "before" picture? One way is to see how other homeowners have remodeled and reinvented their kitchens. The trick is to identify the features that fit your own situation and taste. Here are five before-and-after comparisons to help you cook up your own kitchen transformation.

Nouvelle Gothic

Before: The small, utilitarian corner kitchen felt cramped, and despite its white walls, the dark-stained cabinets made the space feel gloomy. The small window was inadequate, reinforcing the atmosphere of a studio-apartment kitchen.

After: Calling to mind the house in Grant Wood's classic painting American Gothic, the kitchen is organized around a dramatic new pointed dormer window that rises from behind the sink to the very peak of the gable. Owner Ann Spillane wanted the remodeled kitchen to capture a view of the trees. The new window dominates the white-painted kitchen, flooding it with daylight. To gain enough room for a central cooktop island, the architect added 4 feet to the end of the house. A pass-through between the kitchen and dining room echoes the shape of the window and, at the same time, lets the dining room share the kitchen's new light.

DESIGN: Architect Robert Nebolon, Berkeley

CONTRACTOR: Tatangelo Construction, Dublin, California

CABINETS: Custom-made by Diablo Valley Cabinetry

PAINT: Bleached Ivory (A-110) by Fuller-O'Brien (800/338-8084)

COUNTERS: Golden Juperana granite

SINK: Galleon by Kohler (800/456-4537)

FAUCET: Franke (800/626-5771)

COOKTOP: Creda (800/992-7332)

DISHWASHER: Bosch (800/866-2022)

Lightening up a classic

Before: Drab, dark, and dated, this kitchen sank under a heavy load of blank-faced cabinetry.

After: The cost-conscious remodel reuses existing kitchen cabinet shells - including the scalloped trim - but bright colors and new wood doors with inset panels of sandblasted tempered glass add pizzazz. The color palette starts from the floor and works up: the architect chose black, red, yellow, and gray 1-foot-square vinyl tiles, then found ceramic tiles and paint to match. Additional color punch is provided by the Douglas fir doors, cast-aluminum pulls, and white cabinet interiors and ceiling.

DESIGN: Patrick Killen, AIA, Manhattan Beach, California

CONTRACTOR: Dave Forrest, Hermosa Beach, California

CABINET DOORS: Custom-built by Design Support, Torrance, California

PAINTS: Semigloss, oil-base enamel by Frazee (619/276-9500)

COUNTER: Ceramic tiles by Dal Tile (800/933-8453)

Catering to the family

Before: This vintage 1950 Eichler tract-house kitchen had never been touched. The divider was too shallow to work well as a breakfast bar (insufficient knee space made it uncomfortable), and there was no place in the room for children.

After: Owners Judy and Tom Hood wanted a workspace that also functioned well for children and guests. And Judy needed to keep an eye on their two children - ages 8 and 5 - while she cooked. The redesign opens up the long wall that separated the kitchen from part of the living room/dining room and turns what had been a primitive divider into a broad bistro-style breakfast bar. This new divider integrates the range hood, down-lights, and shelving for spice bottles and preserves in a single structure made of distressed pine, stainless steel, glass, and burnished concrete. Another low counter extends from one end of the divider to become a workstation for Lauren and Simon, who often help their mother cook.

DESIGN: Jarvis Designs, San Carlos, California

COUNTERS: Custom-designed by Kate Jarvis, poured in place and sealed with Aquamix

SHELVING: Glass suspended on aircraft cables

PENDANT LIGHTS: Custom-designed by Jarvis

Combine and conquer

Before: Three cramped rooms functioned poorly as kitchen, breakfast room, and dining room.

After: Removing the interior walls that separated the three small rooms created an open floor plan for this combination kitchen, breakfast room, and dining room. A generous new window in the north-facing wall offers the owners views of the San Francisco Bay, while two slender windows that were added high in the west-facing wall (above the cabinets) let in bright light but preserve privacy. A handsome back-splash made of quilt-patterned galvanized sheet metal blends with the celadon-stained cabinets and dark green granite counters. Bamboo flooring runs throughout the remodel, which uses a 40- by 80-inch island to separate the kitchen from the dining area in the open room.

DESIGN: David S. Gast & Associates, San Francisco

CONTRACTOR: Baker Construction, Larkspur, California

CABINETS: Custom-built and stained by David Farah, Santa Rosa, California

COUNTERS: Verde Maritaca

BACKSPLASH: Custom-fabricated by Standard Sheet Metal & Marine Plumbing, San Francisco

FLOORING: Plyboo (bamboo flooring), imported by Smith & Fong (415/285-8230)

PENDANT LIGHTS: Lyte Jack by Lightolier (800/215-1068)