Designer Spotlight: Kitchen Transformation Comes to an 1847 New York Home

When purchasing his home, my client Terry knew he was diving headfirst into a string of renovations. Originally constructed in 1847, the house has a history. And history wasn’t always the kindest of friends to the home.

At one point, it was converted to a building with two dwellings, and at a later point, was reconverted to a single family home again. As part of his plan to progressively update the house room by room, Terry approached CliqStudios.com to help with the kitchen design.

Terry had tried a kitchen planner program provided by a big box store, but he wasn’t confident in the appearance and durability of the cabinetry he saw firsthand. He found CliqStudios.com while searching online and was pleased with the quality and design services offered.

This project was by no means small. In fact, it was a major overhaul, involving some structural work and an external addition to the home. Just before we started working together, a conservatory for café style dining at home was added onto the kitchen. An underused exterior door was also retrofitted with a window.

After getting the rundown from Terry, I was excited to be a part of such a unique remodel. The existing kitchen was from the 1960s and was long overdue for an upgrade. Terry’s goal was to create a space with the feel of a New York loft. To replace the light oak cabinets, Terry selected the CliqStudios.com shaker-style Shaker door in my favorite finish, Painted Green.

With his material selections, Terry said he wished to reverse the typical kitchen color scheme. So instead of a darker wood floor and light colored cabinets, he favored a lighter floor of textured Italian tile with pops of color in the cabinets. This helped create the upscale, modern vibe Terry wanted. The brick accent wall brings in an urban edge to the kitchen and coordinates with the brickwork in the sunroom and dining room. The brick also creates a nice contrast with the smooth marble counters.

Terry really did pull out all the stops for their dream kitchen remodel. If the design selections weren’t signal enough, let alone the undertaking itself, the specialty cabinets and appliance upgrades should do the trick.

Throughout the design, we positioned a lazy susan, spice rack pull-out, and trash base pull-out. The cabinets along the exterior wall between the windows feature frosted glass to conceal the contents inside. On the other side of the peninsula is a short row of pantry cabinets for added storage. The Florence hardware from CliqStudios.com in Brushed Antique Copper was the finishing touch for the cabinets. The peninsula also holds a wine fridge, which sits across from an induction cooktop. Adjacent to this is a second prep sink and double ovens.

Terry said he is very happy with the quality and design service with CliqStudios. He said he was “very pleased with the quality of the cabinets and the excellent design service [I] provided.” When I saw the pictures of the final kitchen, I was blown away. All of his selections came together so well. I’m incredibly happy to have been a part of the project.

Author: Nikki Schnitzler is a kitchen designer at CliqStudios.com