I think we can all agree that lowering a two tiered bar is a great idea in a kitchen update. We have all seen it done thousands of times now. I personally have probably designed close to 100 kitchen renovations with a lowered bar involved. So, they were starting to all feel kind of the same. Until…… this kitchen. 
I had an idea. This house had so many great arches already built into the architecture. What if we rounded the peninsula/island top to play off those curves? Could it even be done? I consulted with my carpenter and my countertop fabricator and after many pow-wows we came up with a plan to pull this off. According to our fabricator, the top would have to be quartz because it is more pliable than stone. So our carpenter removed the top tier and built out and rounded the back of the peninsula. 
The fabricator then templated the space. They had to work the mitered edge by hand and mold it into the shape of the top.
The results.
We did things a little backwards in this renovation. At first the clients just wanted to paint their cabinets. After the cabinets were painted they decided to keep going to completely update the space. We started by removing this stone wall. 
Our client had designed and built this wall himself. It was a beauty, but just didn’t work with where we were going with our design vision. We designed some cabinetry with shelving, a drawer microwave and beverage refrigerator to fill out this area.
Mixing New with Old
It’s always a challenge to introduce new cabinetry into existing cabinetry. We knew we wanted our new cabinetry to go to the ceiling, but the existing cabinets didn’t. So we decided that we would make the new stove hood extend to the ceiling and then match that with new cabinets to the ceiling. That created a balance on that wall. 
We also introduced a new shaker style cabinet with inset doors and drawers. Paint is the great unifier and the creamy white paint pulled it all together. We matched the arch details throughout the house in our shelving and again in our new stove hood. 
We updated the backsplash with this warm marble penny tile and added new quartz countertops on the perimeter. 
We installed leathered black granite on the island with an extra thick ogee edge to add some weight to that area. We brought in warm wood elements in our new cabinetry and on the back of the peninsula. 
We installed new island pendants.
The new peninsula has seating for five, so we eliminated the eat in kitchen table and added a couple of comfy chairs and accent lighting. 
This space is now the favorite spot for hanging out with the cook and playing chess. I love building cozy corners into kitchens and this one makes me so happy!
More before/after’s for you.
This kitchen was such a great lifestyle update for our clients that they decided to keep going with the updating. We designed and installed new furniture in the den, the foyer, the dining room, the office and the lounge. We also updated the powder bathroom. I’ll share that with you next time. Stay tuned.
After photos by Leslie Brown Photography
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