Better Does Not Always Mean Bigger

    

In scenic Cheyenne, Wyoming Christine Connell longed to transform her home. She was inspired by a series of books - The Not So Big House series by Sarah Susanka – which embraces better houses not bigger houses. To achieve her dream she hired architect Curtis Marwitz of Silver Run Architects and the entire first floor was redesigned to capture the “not so big” style but he also worked with the client to “bring openness to the house, [and] embrace a contemporary Wyoming craftsman sensibility” he says. The before and after transformation is inspiring!

So here are 10 things to think about when you are redesigning your kitchen:

1) Kitchen cabinet style and design is critical: Redesign kitchen cabinets to better utilize space, create display shelves for precious knickknack to avoid clutter and reinforce the style of the home with the overall cabinet design.

2) Use larger tiles and wide plank floors: the large tiles and Carlisle 7” Wide Plank White Oak  flooring to minimize seams and complement the open look – small styles and narrow boards make a room especially a large look way too busy

3) Don’t be confined: Remove the overhead kitchen cabinets to open the kitchen up to the other rooms and make the kitchen bigger – creating more space without an addition!

4) Utilize your space: Put your overhead pace to good use around the perimeter not in the middle of the room

5) Don’t underestimate the island: Maximize the island with storage space and tucked in seating area for stools so it doesn’t intrude on walk ways and living areas

6) Adjust the traffic pattern for your kitchen: Shift the island and open a new hallway outside the kitchen, to both accommodate the larger design and avoid a main walkway through your kitchen – to keep it cleaner and with less clutter.

7) Location, Location, Location: You may not need new appliances, just reorganize their location to make the kitchen more functional to how you work in it.

8) Complement don’t match: Complement the darker cabinets with light tile and wood floors, trying to match colors can be challenging and often unsuccessful.

9) Use Architectural Details to define not walls: Notice how the beams and tile/wood floor design define the kitchen area but still create an open concept. Notice how the arts & crafts “paneling” design highlight the hall and dining room entrance.

10) Add a little color: open spaces are best created with lighter colors, as seen here with the light walls and floors, and medium toned wood. But color like in the prairie green island can add just the right splash

You can see how you can do a lot with the space you have and make a big difference. There were no big additions here to make rooms bigger, just careful forethought into space planning and function.

 

 

See more photos of the project at the Silver Run Architects Facebook page. And if you are looking for more info on the Not So Big House series by Sarah Susanka visit her website  - Not So Big House

This article was contributed by Shanon Sterrett of Carlisle Wide Plank Floors.



Carlisle Wide Plank Floors

Since 1966 Carlisle has been proudly hand-crafting the finest and most versatile Hardwood, Reclaimed and Pine wide plank flooring from the highest quality timbers in the world in beautiful New Hampshire while offering the best design consultations, expertise and service in the industry.

Carlisle Wide Plank Floor Locations:

New York City,  Washington, DC , Chicago, IL, Denver, CO and Stoddard, NH
(800) 595-9663
http://www.wideplankflooring.com/

Superior Woodcraft is a local custom cabinet maker from Doylestown, Pa - the heart of Bucks County.


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