Do you love classic and timeless design? Design that will stand the test of time? While there are beautiful trends that come and go, nevertheless when designing a kitchen incorporating designs that are timeless is smart! For instance, take a look at this kitchen that we recently completed, a timeless black and white kitchen.
Remodeling kitchens and bathrooms are expensive. With this in mind, you’ll want to choose finishes that are enduring.
Not only do you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but also with the expense of making renovations, you want to choose your finishes wisely.
Today we are sharing a kitchen renovation from one of our clients. They were looking for a more functional layout. In a previous renovation a wall had been removed, creating a larger dining area, yet the layout of the kitchen remained the same. A small U-shaped kitchen that was not functional for this growing family.
Before Kitchen Renovations for a black and white kitchen
This small U-shaped kitchen really only functions if there is one person in the kitchen at a time.
Clearly, now that all of their children were grown and married, as well as with the addition of grandchildren, this U-shaped kitchen did not work at all.
Our client has four daughters! Can you imagine all of them in this tiny kitchen trying to help prepare a family dinner? Without a doubt, they needed a new layout that would serve their family better.
There was definitely space to increase the size of the kitchen layout towards the French doors.
Step 1: Create a plan
Determine Your Must-Haves
Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Is the current layout working?
- Do you need more Storage?
- What needs to be updated?
- Do you have enough countertop space?
- Are you planning on selling soon?
- What updates would add the most value?
Set a Budget
How do you know what a realistic budget is for your kitchen renovation? A good rule of thumb is to spend 5% – 15% of your homes total value on your kitchen renovation. For example, if your house is valued at $200,000, a decent kitchen renovation budget would be 10% of that value, so about $20,000.
Gather Ideas
A great place to start is online. Pinterest and Houzz are great places to look for ideas.
Visit showrooms and look at different types of cabinetry as well as ideas for backsplash and flooring.
Plan on Using a Professional
Include in your budget, funds for professionals. There may be work that you do not feel qualified to do.
Don’t create more work for yourself. Leave room in your budget to bring in the professionals.
Plan for a Black and White Kitchen
In this kitchen remodel we had more space that we could utilize as kitchen space.
The first place to start is planning a functional layout. We began by taking measurements of the existing kitchen layout and the additional space we were going to incorporate in the the kitchen design.
Using graph paper we made a rough sketch of our layout. With those measurements in hand we put them into a room design program. We have purchased a program to do this, however there are free options online.
Lowes has an online room designer tool that is easy to use.
Here is a list of other options:
Creating a 3D rendering of the proposed kitchen layout allows you to see if your plan will work.
This can be a little tedious, but it is so worth it! With a 3D rendering of your space you can virtually walk through your space before you make any commitments.
By creating a 3D rendering for our clients, they were able to see our vision for their space. Adjustments were then made to the design to fit their needs.
Select Timeless Finishes for a Black and White Kitchen
This is where the fun begins! All of the beautiful elements that create a beautiful black and white kitchen.
Our client basically already had a black and white kitchen. They had painted their old cabinets white and installed a black granite countertop.
However, they were not happy with the results. The cabinetry was old and dated. The granite countertop had not been sealed properly and had a film on it.
Our client loves black, so the color scheme really wouldn’t change. It would be reworked in new ways.
First, we chose a cabinet door profile and had samples of the paint we were proposing. The colors we chose were Sherwin Williams Caviar and Snowbound.
Next, we chose the countertop. Because our client was not happy with her previous granite countertop, our choice was quartz. It is durable, beautiful and there is no maintenance with sealers.
A white quartz was chosen for the perimeter and black quartz for the island. The quartz countertops have the look of marble without the worry and maintenance of marble.
For the backsplash, we brought in several samples for our client to choose from. Wanting to keep it light and airy all of the tile samples were white. The final choice was a white subway tile that looks handmade. It has a beautiful sheen that reflects light.
Keeping with a black and white kitchen scheme, we chose modern orb pendant lights with a black and brushed gold finish.
Step 2: Demo Day! Out with the old
If you decide to handle demolition yourself, there are a few things to take care of before you go sledgehammer happy.
Make sure your kitchen is prepped for the demo by making sure to check these eight areas:
- Turn off water
- Have a dumpster ready for trash
- Turn off gas
- Remove appliances
- Turn off electrical from your breaker box
- Empty cabinets
- Place a drop cloth on floors that aren’t being renovated
- Our contractor also closed off the work area with heavy duty plastic to keep the dust down in the rest of the house.
The old cabinets were removed from the kitchen. They were repurposed in the basement.
The old backsplash was removed along with the bulkheads.
This home was built in the 70’s when bulkheads were very popular. I think every home built in the 70’s had them. This kitchen had bulkheads above the refrigerator and the pantry as well.
Step 3: Electrial
Electrical renovation projects are no small task. Hire a professional if this is not your specialty. If you’re already working with a contractor, they’ll have an electrician lined up for this portion of the project.
Some common electrical renovations are:
- Lighting
- Dimmer switches
- Wiring for dishwasher
- Setting up for a new range and oven
- Adding more outlets along the walls
- Wiring for garbage disposal
Once the demo was complete, the electrician came in and updated our lighting as well as adding more outlets for the expanded kitchen.
He installed more can lights where the new bank of cabinets would run, as well as boxes for pendant lights over the island and kitchen sink.
There were also more outlets added to the wall where new cabinetry would be installed. Outlets were also installed for the dishwasher and range.
The electrician also install outlets on both sides of the island as well as power for the microwave.
Step 4: Rough in Plumbing
Once the kitchen is essentially gutted, it’s time to update the plumbing.
If you’re handling this on your own, you’ll want to have a few things on hand, such as towels and buckets in case anything starts leaking. Some common plumbing issues you might want to solve during your renovation are:
- Low water pressure
- Leaks from your faucets, sink or dishwasher
- Clogged plumbing
- A gas line addition
- Shut-off valves update
For our renovation we updated the shut-off valves under the sink. A new water line was also installed for the refrigerator.
Our client also wanted to upgrade her range to gas, therefore we also had a gas line installed.
Step 5: Drywall & Painting
Once you’ve made any necessary upgrades to your plumbing and electrical, it’s time to close the walls back up by hanging new drywall.
Installing new drywall is fairly simple, in comparison to other aspects of the renovation process.
Some tools you might need:
- Drywall saw
- Drywall screw gun
- Utility knife
- Drywall screws
- Mixing tools (for the joint compound)
- Sanding tools
- Joint tape
- Joint compound
- Fiberglass tape
- Drywall panels
Step 6: flooring
After paint comes the flooring.
Depending on the material you choose for your kitchen flooring, the installation will vary.
For example, laminate or hardwood flooring doesn’t require any grout work, while tile flooring is labor intensive with laying tile and grouting.
There were already beautiful oak hardwood floors in this home. We wanted to keep that look throughout the main floor.
A hardwood floor specialist feathered in the hardwood where it was missing in the old peninsula area. Finally, the entire floor was refinished.
Step 7: Cabinetry
It is an exciting day when the cabinets arrive! You can see the plan really start to come together now.
We went with custom Euro-style cabinetry.
“Euro-style,” also known as frameless kitchen cabinets, that have no surface face frames, with doors and drawers that fit snugly against the cabinet carcasses.
The emphasis is always on maximizing space. … As European-style cabinets are focused on efficiency.
In this black and white kitchen, black lower cabinets were installed on the perimeter of the kitchen and white upper cabinets. The island is white cabinetry as well.
Step 8: Countertops
We are getting so close now! Our kitchen is finally starting to look like a kitchen again and not a construction zone!
One thing to keep in mind about your countertops is the timeline. This is where things can sometimes slow down. Often the fabricators prefer measuring for countertops once the cabinets are installed.
It took 10 days after the countertop template before our countertops were installed. In addition to that, the slab for our island was damaged and we had to wait for a new stone to be delivered.
And that’s an entire other story! It took many weeks before our kitchen was fully finished because of the delay with the island stone.
Step 9: Backsplash
We’re in the homestretch now! It’s now time for the backsplash.
For the backsplash, we chose this beautiful glazed subway tile. It has a handmade quality about it. The edges were irregular and the finish is rippled. This tile reflects the light beautifully.
Subway tile is timeless. It is by far one of the most popular tile choices. You just can’t go wrong with it.
But, by installing it in a timeless herringbone pattern we created visual interest. The dark charcoal grout adds that drama we were looking for. This was the perfect touch for our black and white kitchen.
Step 10: Bring in the Appliances and the Accessories
A new gas range was installed, but our client wanted to keep the other appliances she had. They were fairly new. That is an option if your budget it tight.
The old countertop microwave was installed in the island with a custom trim.
Accessories and decor items in a kitchen should be functional as well as beautiful.
We took charming bottles of oil, vinegar and seasoning and grouped them on a pretty wooden tray.
The wooden trays adds warmth to this black and white kitchen.
Wooden utensils are corralled in a gorgeous marble container.
To the left of the range we added a beautiful gold basket for mail and keys.
Soaps are placed on a simple gilded tray. While lemons are placed in an elegant bowl.
Brushed gold hardware is stunning against the caviar cabinets.
A simple green wreath was placed on the vent hood. While fresh flowers and candles spruce up the island.
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This kitchen turned out beautifully! You are both so talented. Reading this and seeing the transformation of these space makes me so eager to get my own fixer upper home 😉
Thank you so much Heather. We enjoyed this project so much!