It’s reveal day for this Arden Park Project! You may have read about this remodel and its challenges already, but it’s time for the before and afters! I’m so thrilled with how much more functional this space is for this family! Originally built in 1950, they had a small galley kitchen that was separated from their living space and dining area, and with a family of five, they needed all the open space they could get.Walls were removed, additions were made, and spaces were completely relocated. The original kitchen turned into an open dining area to the left of the new kitchen, and the new kitchen took over the original living room that had the built-ins. There’s now a large mudroom, laundry and pantry through the door to the left of the fridge where the breakfast nook used to be. The new family room took over the existing master bedroom and part of the original family room– combining the living and family rooms gained them some space too! The master suite is where the other part of the original family room and office used to be. Confused yet?! Sometimes I have a hard time remembering where everything used to be too! Basically everything moved around!Since the kitchen is the heart of the home, they wanted a space where the entire family could gather around, whether cooking, baking or doing homework and crafts at the large island and dining table, as well as plenty of space in the adjacent family room to hang out and lounge. We contrasted their love of a white kitchen with a slate blue island and added gorgeous pendants above for a timeless aesthetic and love how it turned out!
Alright! Are you ready to see what it looked like before?! It’s such a transformation and truly shows what a little space planning can do and how much of a difference it makes when you take out a few walls and repurpose the spaces to suit a family’s needs! Be sure to scroll down and see the side-by-side comparisons and a little bit more explanation of the spaces! Here we go!
So crazy, right?!
These side-by-side comparisons help explain the relocation and might seem a bit trickier because of the walls that moved, but that’s part of the fun! The front door remained in the same location and if you had entered and turned left immediately, this is what you would have seen and what you see now! Same angle!
If you look closely at the before image above, you’ll see the brick fireplace in the pass-through window above the cooktop– and in this before photo below, you’ll see the kitchen cabinets on the far left wall, so hopefully that helps give a little bit of reference to the previous layout. This pass-through wall obviously came out and opened up the space for their new, large kitchen and dining area! The dining area is to the left of the island when looking at the range.
It’s almost the same angle, but at least you get the idea! The original built-ins were in the living room and are still in the same location. They were completely updated to create a ton of storage in the kitchen as well as a multi-function counter top! (This is the right angle wall in the new space.) You’ll see that the wall to the left of the before image is a solid wall and now it leads to the family room. There’s so much more space and feels so much lighter and brighter!
I love seeing all of these spaces take on a new life and love that the homeowners are already telling me stories about having their friends and family over— and how everyone can’t believe this is the same space!
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