Before & After: Sunlight in a Small, Vintage Style, White Kitchen

I am home today awaiting what’s called a “Bomb Cyclone” which is a rare weather phenomenon that I had never heard of up until yesterday.  I feel incredibly skeptical, but maybe that’s how Floridians and other feel when forecasters warn of a hurricane and they look outside and see a little rain.  This Bomb Cyclone (if I understand it correctly) is an inland hurricane.   All schools and government offices are closed and most of my meetings have been canceled.  Currently, a gentle, spring-like snow is falling.  It’s a perfect day to write and look at some Before & Afters!!

I showed off a little bit of this kitchen with a post about three rugs in one white kitchen from a few weeks ago.  This is a petite kitchen in Denver’s gorgeous Park Hill neighborhood.  This kitchen belongs to this bathroom that I featured last year.  Let’s take a look at a before photo:

This is a tiny space.   The wall to the left of the dishwasher separates the small kitchen from an even smaller nook area.  The only good thing about the nook area is it has two windows and gets lots of light.  This home is from the 1930’s and I think this was a breakfast nook at one point in time.  My initial idea for this room was to take out the interior wall that separates the nook from the main kitchen and add a window there to capture more light into this tight area.

This is still a small kitchen. However, the natural light goes a long way towards lifting your spirits when you’re in a small space like this.  I centered the sink under the new window to give the corner area some breathing room.  We also centered the stove in between the refrigerator and the corner and added a pot filler at the stove.  The gorgeous vintage doors on the left hide a new pantry and house the microwave.  This space used to hold the ice box back in the 1930’s.  The vintage pantry doors are from Rare Finds.

The countertops at the stove are a remnant of White Macaubus Quartzite that we felt lucky to find.  We put walnut butcherblock counters next to that – the client really wanted wood countertops and I love how they warm up the space.   The cabinets are in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, a soft white favorite of mine.  The satin brass hardware is from Emtek.  The faucet and pot filler are from Delta Faucet in their Champagne Bronze finish which is the closest to satin brass.  The gorgeous area rug is from Shaver-Ramsey.

I did like the cute little arch that was here, but I like the added sunlight and additional counterspace better.  This family doesn’t need a small nook for eating breakfast, they needed a more usable space.    The built-in bookshelf is original to the home.  The pendants are from Shades of Light.  I really love the re-purposed vintage doors that hide the pantry.  I think they add grace to a very simple space.

The cute trim around the bookshelf is original 1930’s trim.  I think it has a sweet look that softens the cabinetry here.  We took the subway tile all the way up to the ceiling and capped it with crown molding painted White Dove to match the cabinets.

Simba is available to pose for treats…

And, one more because I am a dog lover and a fan of Simba.

“I work hard so my dog can have a better life.” – Unknown.