An outdated Stonewall kitchen gets a head-to-toe makeover
Lexington, KY – Heather Lyons and her family had lived in their Stonewall neighborhood home for over six years before they finally decided it was time to do something with their cramped and oddly arranged kitchen. The kitchen was the home’s original, built in the early ‘60s, and it was long overdue for a makeover.
Lyons said the original kitchen had scant counter and cabinet space, and rectifying that situation was of the utmost priority. There was also a back door situated in a very disruptive location.
“The only place you could fit the refrigerator was right next to the back door,” Lyons said. “We go in and out to the backyard so much, it was this constant traffic jam. You’d have to close the refrigerator so somebody could come in and out of the door.”
With the help of Architectural Kitchens and Baths, who designed and installed the new kitchen last April, Lyons’ new kitchen has ample counter space as well as lots of smart storage features in new cherry cabinets. A neighbor, David Marshall with Masters in Renovation, replaced the textured ceiling, installed new lighting and moved the pesky backdoor away from the main kitchen area.
A new hardwood floor also was installed in the kitchen, which was staggered seamlessly with the home’s existing hardwood flooring. The original kitchen flooring was white vinyl, and the material completely baffled Lyons.
“It was horrible,” Lyons said. “Why someone would put a white vinyl floor in their kitchen, right next to the door that goes to the backyard –– it was miserable.”
The original kitchen had a walled-off pantry, which Lyons wanted to keep, in at least some kind of fashion. Curiously, there was two feet of empty space behind the pantry, which caused the structure to jut out into the kitchen more than it needed to. When the pantry was removed and replaced with tall floor-to-ceiling cabinets, more space was freed up, which the kitchen designers used to make room for a sizable granite-topped peninsula.
The dark green granite on the peninsula was used for all of the kitchen’s new countertops. Working with Lexington’s Granite America, Lyons found the style and color of granite she wanted, though it wasn’t what she had originally envisioned.
