Hi Hi, I’ve got a brand spanking new client project to introduce and I am pretty excited about it. You may have caught a couple small glimpses (here and here) on Instagram, as I have been working behind the scenes for the last couple months, but now that construction has begun I wanted to start chronicling the progress here for you to follow along! To give you a quick run-down on the project, it is a full gut renovation in a two story residence here in LA. There are 4 bathrooms and one kitchen which were dated and didn’t suit the homeowners taste, so we said BUH-BYE to it all. They brought me on board to design a home that better reflects their {realllly great} taste. To kick things off let’s dig right in with the heart of the home… the kitchen.

BEFORE PHOTOS

So this is how the kitchen looked when we began. Not bad at all, but the house is quite large and in proportion the kitchen was quite small and that is A LOT of wood. We are updating the appliances, getting a larger cooking area with a 48″ range and doing away with the stacked wall oven which further closed in the kitchen. From top to bottom… all of it is going.

The biggest change will come in the new layout. Taking out the wall oven and the peninsula will open up the kitchen into the “breakfast room” dining area, making it one big dine-in kitchen. We will be adding an island in the center and a custom built-in banquette where you now see the table and chairs.

FLOORPLANS

As you can see, as-is the kitchen isn’t large enough for an island but it is large enough that it feels like it has wasted space in the center.

By removing the peninsula and extending the kitchen into the breakfast room we had a lot more room to play and now onto the really fun part…

THE INSPIRATION

These are a few of my favorite kitchens that the homeowners also loved. The selection makes me SO happy and gave such great inspiration for the space. Even though they vary in style there are some common threads and each one has something uniquely special about it. My goal is always to create spaces with an unexpected element/something that makes it stand out from the norm or past projects and the client was clearly on board.

Kitchen one Designed by Stefani Stein, photo by Tessa Neustadt // Kitchen two by Amber Interiors, photo by Tessa Neustadt // Kitchen three by Anna Smith // Kitchen four Designed by Kishani Perera, photo by Joe Schmelzer // Kitchen five by Devol Kitchens

Here is a sneak peek at the finishes!

THE FINISHES

 We started the design with a palette in mind… green, brass, white and some natural wood. I’ve combined modern and traditional elements as well as a mix of high and low to create the biggest design bang for their budget.

Instead of using green on the cabinets we decided to put it on the floor with Fireclay’s Brick Tile in “Northwoods”. The color is the most perfect shade of dark green with blue undertones. Then it came to the cabinets and countertops. To keep it classic we are going with white cabinets… and once again I am using SemiHandmade, they make high quality doors and drawer fronts that fit onto Ikea cabinets, giving the look of a more custom kitchen for much less than a true custom kitchen (see them in our house here and soon to be in our A-frame here), then a slab hunting we went. We slab shopped all over town and landed on the most beautiful (and unique) marble called “green tweed”. Choosing hardware & lighting was easy once I looked to Schoolhouse Electric as they are masters at modernizing classic pieces.

See I wasn’t exaggerating on their really great taste! The homeowner is also a friend of mine which is why she is letting me share all the nitty gritty renovation details and you can see more behind the scenes action on her instagram @jaimibrooks. Also, if you ever find yourself in need of someone to talk to, she is an incredible human and an amazing marriage and family therapist. Stay tuned for more from the Trullbrook Residence. x

Cabinet doors by Semihandmade // Pendants by Schoolhouse Electric // Sink from Ikea // Cabinet knobs by Schoolhouse Electric // Drawer Pulls by Schoolhouse Electric // Range by Thermador // Faucet by Waterstone // Tile  by Fireclay