Kitchens become 'the center of the universe'

“It was cut off from the rest of the house and it was a long, narrow room,” Inmon said. “So we completely gutted the entire kitchen – took out the soffits, the cabinets, took down a wall, the flooring – we redid everything.”

Her remodeling project touched on a couple of the most popular elements of kitchens today: an open floor plan, incorporating the kitchen into the living space, and the newest appliances and gadgets.

Popular plans

The plan for the Inmon kitchen included elements that allow the family to have more room in the kitchen, which Inmon said is the most popular room in her house.

“We spend a lot of time, like most families, in the kitchen,” she said. “So we did a hearth room off the kitchen, with a fireplace and a sitting area. On the other side, the kids can do their homework while I’m cooking.”

Brad Schrock, president of Kitchenland USA, which remodeled the Inmons’ kitchen, said that when deciding what to change, the key is not to panic.

“Most people, when they look at a kitchen remodel job, are intimidated by the size of what’s going to happen,” Schrock said. “The first thing to do is have a kitchen designer come out to look at and measure the kitchen. Deciding how far you want to go, and your comfort level with that, will come from a meeting with (the designer).”

That meeting also will hit on another sore spot in kitchen remodeling: cost. It doesn’t have to be bad news, though; Schrock says not all remodeling projects are massive affairs with high price tags.

“Most people think it’s going to be a $50,000 job to remodel the kitchen. But we do jobs for as little as $2,500,” Schrock said, adding that a new look can come from something as simple as new cabinet hardware or new countertops.

Then and now

The concept of the kitchen as part of the living area is a result of decades of evolution in home design, according to Jim Baker, president and main designer at B&G Drafting.

In the 1950s, Baker said, layout was characterized by a formal living room – “where Mom kept the piano and the white carpet and nobody walked in there” – and a separate area with an informal family room, dining area and kitchen.

As the decades progressed and people looked for ways to save money, that idea morphed into one family area with dining room and kitchen separated. But that created separation of the family.

The majority of new homes built today, Baker said, incorporate the kitchen into the living space with the use of half walls and open floor plans. That trend, like many in new construction, has taken hold in remodeling as well.

“In the majority of remodeling that we do, the goal is to get the kitchen, dining and family rooms into one large area again,” Baker said. “The majority of the clients say the same thing – they want a lot of open space and they want the family together.”

For Inmon’s family, which includes two young children, being together was especially important.

“We were always stepping on each other – we couldn’t be in the kitchen working together,” she said. “So that was my main goal when I redid the kitchen: to design it around the kids so they could be in there helping me.”

Built-in stepstools in baseboards, for instance, make it easier for Inmon’s children to test their culinary skills.

“The kids just go to these three special areas where the stepstools are, and they can work from there,” Inmon said. “They’re not even noticeable until I point them out for someone.”

‘The SUV era’

While hearth rooms are not new, another new trend is combining such rooms – complete with sitting area and fireplace – just off the kitchen.

“We’re into the SUV era – the bigger the better,” B&G’s Baker said. “Most kitchens have at least some upgraded cooking facilities, whether it be a commercial-style oven and range or separate ovens. It all boils down to the kitchen being the center of the universe.”

Baker said that features such as a raised bar are popular. Other popular trends include new gadgets such as dish drawers – which the Inmons included in their kitchen – appliance “garages” that hide countertop appliances and unique wall angles that add visual interest.

Whether the goal is a totally new space or just an update, Baker said the key is to know what the vision is for the new kitchen.

“The key thing to know is where you want to go,” he said. “I can make suggestions, but if they don’t know where they’re going, I don’t know if I can get there for them.” [[In-content Ad]]