Think you can’t afford that remodel? (There are more options than you think.)
So you’d love to upgrade your kitchen or add a shed dormer with a primary suite, but you’re not sure how to pay for it? Learn about three ways to finance your remodel.
See Inside: A Modern Kitchen Remodel for a St. Paul Foursquare Home
A remodel is underway. Take a look inside.
Follow along as we design and build a new kitchen within an American Foursquare in St. Paul.
Design
Design Motivation
Our clients knew they wanted to tackle some expansive home projects when they purchased their St. Paul home. After a few years and a successful basement remodel, it was finally time to think about updating their main floor kitchen. Unlike previous projects that they designed and oversaw themselves, the family was looking for a team who could handle the entire project in-house, from design through the end of construction. That’s when we stepped in.
This classic American Foursquare kitchen needed a major redesign to help this family of four feel more comfortable in the home. The design team worked through a scheme that would address much-needed repairs and provide more space, better backyard views, and a modern aesthetic that suited our design-minded clients.
Here’s how we’ll renew the kitchen in this 1918 St. Paul home.
Saying Goodbye to Freezing Pipes & Space Heaters
The existing kitchen was noticeably cold in the winter, and even with space heaters running, the owners spent the winter trying to avoid freezing pipes. That’s why a major part of the redesign focused on correcting uncomfortable temperature swings and plumbing concerns. With improved HVAC, insulation, and updated plumbing, our construction team will resolve the frustrating heating and cooling problems that make this kitchen chilly and inefficient.
Gaining More Space
In the updated plan, we removed the informal dining area to create a spacious, fully equipped kitchen, including more counter space, larger appliances, a full-height pantry, and expansive cabinetry. The more generously scaled kitchen means our clients can take advantage of more storage opportunities while more easily sharing the space together as a family.
Improving Storage & Backyard Views
Even with the informal dining area removed, we still needed to make some tough decisions about the kitchen’s layout. The proposed plan calls for the removal of two windows along the west-facing range wall in favor of a longer run of cabinets and bigger appliances. An impressively large 97″x47″ window is now planned for the back of the kitchen, and a secondary unit will be framed into the East kitchen wall, so daylighting and backyard views won’t be sacrificed.
Better Visual Connections Between Rooms
Sometimes, gaining more space is physical, like removing that informal dining area for the sake of a broader kitchen footprint or removing windows to get more storage space. Other times, spatial changes are visual. We worked with our clients to create a more expansive cased opening between the kitchen and formal dining room. With a larger opening and the right casing, we can help establish a better visual connection across the home and remove a possible pinch point caused by an undersized entryway.
“Connecting the kitchen to the dining and living room with the cased opening was amazing. Our designer was very patient and let us talk through and think about those big decisions. We were allowed to land on a really great solution after the demo was done.” – Macalester-Groveland Homeowners
Rethinking the Dropped Ceilings
Living in an American Foursquare with already considerable ceiling heights, our clients often wondered why the kitchen had a dropped ceiling. Except where a new support beam needed a few extra inches of clearance near the range, we’ll be demoing all existing soffits and regaining space lost to the existing dropped ceiling. In fact, our team will be crafting a walnut ceiling detail that ties into the wood vent hood and covers the structural beam, while the clients will provide additional accent lighting along the perimeter of the build.
“The dropped ceiling really bummed us out, and we knew there must be a reason… possibly even a can of worms to uncover. So we needed a strong team, and we were right. We found an unsupported beam.” – Macalester-Groveland Homeowners
We’re going all modern, and here are the selections that will make that happen.
Since we lucked out with creative clients, we collaborated well throughout the design phase to land on ideal selections from window profiles to appliances and more. A matte black faucet will ornament the creamy white countertops, while a bold blue lower cabinet color called Marea Baja by Sherwin Willians will accent the otherwise cool white and gray tones used across walls and upper cabinets. The flush framed cabinets with minimal hardware help establish a modern interior aesthetic that best suits these St. Paul owners.
Kitchen Selections:
- Cabinets: Paint grade, soft maple at select cabinets, others to be stain grade walnut | All flush framed with no crown at uppers, add toe kick, under cabinet lighting, and integrated pulls.
- Countertops: Premium Natural Quartz in Arctic White
- Sink: KGU-413B KRAUS 31″ Undermount Single Bowl Black Onyx Granite Kitchen Sink
- Faucet: Vigo Greenwich 1.8 GPM Single Hole Pull Down Kitchen Faucet
- Refrigerator: Bosch 800 Series French Door Bottom Mount Refrigerator 36” Stainless steel
- Dishwasher: Bosch 800 Series Dishwasher 24” SHV78CM3N
- Flooring: Glue Down Marmoleum, Welsh Slate
- Wall Paint: Sherwin Williams EXTRA WHITE SW7006 – MATTE
- Trim Paint: Sherwin Williams PURE WHITE SW7005 – SATIN
- Paint for Upper Cabinets: Sherwin Williams GRAY SCREEN SW7071 – SATIN
- Paint for Lower Cabinets: Sherwin Williams MAREA BAJA SW9185 – SATIN
“We wanted touches of walnut. In other high-touch areas, like the quartz countertops, we went with nicer selections, which we balanced out with painted surfaces elsewhere.” – Macalester-Groveland Homeowners
A Bathroom That Seemed Impossible
Our clients had lived in their Macalester-Groveland neighborhood home for years without access to a bathroom on the main level. They asked the team if it was feasible to add one to the scope of their remodel, but with only 179 sq.ft. of space to plan a kitchen remodel, getting that bathroom felt nearly impossible. Creative maneuvering by the design staff kept the family’s dream alive by including a half-bath just off of the kitchen, the room itself accented with a bold blue sink and colorful, geometric wallpaper.
While designers found a dream-worthy solution, the plan needed to be reviewed for budget implications. Including a bathroom adds value, but it also adds cost, so we needed to talk with the homeowners about the proposed change in scope and, therefore, budget. And in this case, our clients were ready to move forward, approved the design, and we prepped for construction to begin.
“When we interviewed other people, some of them didn’t hear me when I said, ‘my super dream is to have a bathroom.’ Our White Crane Designer just said, ‘okay,’ and then she did it. She included a bathroom.” – Macalester-Groveland Homeowners
Bathroom Selections:
- Sink: West Elm San Francisco Sink in Dark Blue
- Toilet: B0940-MB 1.28 GPF Elongated Comfort ADA Height One Piece Dual-Flush Toilet with Soft-Closing Seat
- Faucet: Kohler Purist 1.2 GPM Wall Mounted Widespread Bathroom Faucet, Model: K-T14413-3-BL
- Wallpaper: Happy Wall Mid Century Bauhaus vivid wallpaper
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