A New Kitchen from The English Contractor & Drawing Dept.

Sometimes, an architect is creating a new living space from the ground up. But sometimes, it’s the architect’s job to eek out a home’s true nature, upgrading each and every space to bring the home the function and the style that it truly deserves.

Such is the case in this kitchen that The English Contractor renovated in partnership with Drawing Dept. We started with this traditional space, with raised paneled cabinet doors, and lots of dark green Uba Tuba granite, a stone that rose to popularity in the 1980s and 90s, tucked into a nook of this open concept home. While the footprint of this kitchen stayed the same, it looks and functions like a much larger space. That’s the magic of modern finishes combined with an architect’s expert eye. Now that you see the “before,” you can truly appreciate the “after.”

Where to even start? Oak cabinets with arched, raised panel detail have been replaced with custom built cabinetry to maximize the efficiency of this space. The high-gloss white upper cabinetry and hand-detailed, gray textured lower cabinetry from Bench Made are paired with aluminum and glass, creating a space that is filled with light and style, as it plays with contrasting elements of light and dark. The balance of black and white continues with the countertops, with a white solid surface against the wall contrasting with the Absolute Black granite with a honed finish from Sims-Lohman on the island. The cabinetry hardware, by Blum, provides a stainless, linear detail that’s repeated in the appliances and mimicked again on the elongated kitchen sink, from Cincinnati-based Create Good Sinks. The Grohe Essence adds an industrial touch, with a pull down faucet for added flexibility. The faucet really stands out thanks to the backsplash, a custom back-painted glass panel, illuminated by Haefele under-cabinet lighting. The lighting plan for this kitchen was an upgrade, too, with recessed lighting by Halo with Sorra LED bulbs and a pendant light over the island from Axis Lighting. Lighting controls are automated as well, thanks to M Alan Associates Inc.

The brightness isn’t only due to the upgraded lighting, but to the daylight let in through the new Marvin Window. The Marvin Awning window offers the clean lines that a space like this begs for. The top-hinged operation keeps this window, flanked by upper cabinetry, from being awkward. It was the ideal choice since it can easily be opened for a breath of fresh air. With hinges at the top, it even adds additional airflow during a light rain.

You’d expect that a kitchen this spectacular and well-thought-out would have appliances to match and this space does not disappoint. Tisdel Distributing sourced the appliances, including a new Subzero refrigerator. The induction range in the island and built-in microwave are from Wolf. An ice maker from Scotsman rounds out the appliance package. This new space includes appliances that are much larger than what it held before. How is that even possible? That’s the magic touch that an architect can bring to a project like this. It may have seemed like a simple upgrade and appliance swap, but this vision here delivered so much more.

The icing on the cake might be the coffee nook, extending the kitchen by repeating the lower cabinetry and white solid surface countertop. It’s highlighted by a chartreuse upper cabinet for a striking splash of color, a jolt of caffeine for the eyes, energizing this entire space through pigment and performance.

In looking through these before and after images, you might be pinching yourself in disbelief of this incredible transformation. We’re sure the homeowner is, too. This kitchen renovation is so much more than a newly refinished space, but breathes new life into the entire home. If you dream it, The English Contractor team can build it. But a partnership with an architecture firm like Drawing Dept. promises each home--and each homeowner--the space it deserves in both function and style.