Kitchen of the Week: Renovated to Wow in White, Wood & Red

See how the designer transformed this Boston kitchen by removing a staircase and adding a red refrigerator and range

Having lived in their Victorian house for more than a decade, this married couple of attorneys with two young kids were ready to fix their awkward kitchen layout without losing some of the existing details they loved. Designer Jodi Swartz and her team at KitchenVisions reworked the space by removing a staircase, adding a new island and cabinets and injecting color with bold red appliances.

Kitchen at a Glance 
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Boston
Size: 267 square feet (25 square meters)
Designer: Jodi Swartz of KitchenVisionsThe stained wood ceiling molding and the stained wood door that leads to the basement remain in the renovated kitchen, but the wood cabinets were replaced with new ones covered in Benjamin Moore’s Apparition. “The color we chose for the cabinets has a bit of a creamy tone that keeps it from looking too stark,” Swartz says.

After: By removing the staircase, Swartz was able to add another row of lower cabinets topped with black granite along the right side of the kitchen. This wall of cabinetry now includes a built-in microwave, a dishwasher and the main sink. To the right of the door, Swartz reused the stained wood stair railings from the old staircase to create a guardrail for the landing.

The designer also removed the built-in cabinets to the left of the stained door to make room for a new red built-in refrigerator. “The husband loves to cook and he was all about adding the bold red range and refrigerator,” Swartz says.

The design team covered the wall above the new countertop in classic white subway tile. To keep the kitchen feeling open and airy, Swartz added a pair of stainless steel floating shelves in lieu of upper cabinets. “The new wall of lower cabinets added enough storage space that we were able to keep the upper wall free of cabinets,” Swartz says.
Swartz added a soffit at the top of the range wall in order to add a stainless steel range hood that replaced the microwave above the old range. The wall behind the range is covered in a quatrefoil tile in a matte finish that provides a contrast to the surrounding glossy subway tile.
The new island is topped with marble-look quartz and features a prep sink. The cabinet hardware is matte black. Four industrial counter stools surround the island and a trio of modern black pendant lights hang above. The skylights and stained wood french doors that lead to the backyard are existing.