Bistro Style Kitchen
A No Nonsense Approach

Originally built in 1992, this kitchen was built using the trends of the time.  Trends that included white appliances, tiled countertops and designer wallpaper.   While functionally the kitchen was fine, the homeowner wanted an update.  New stainless steel appliances were chosen to replace the original white Jenn Air units.  The ovens were originally two single ovens mounted one on top of the other.  This created a challenge because the 1992 version ovens had a cabinet cutout larger than most all new appliances.  This required us to re-size the original opening by moving the center dividing style to the bottom and having a new drawer created to fill up the bottom space left behind.  Strips of matching wood were added and stained to match. This made the hole thinner to accommodate the new KitchenAid stainless steel convection double oven.

Since most homes in this era were built with down-draft cooktops, the choices for replacement are limited.  Even more limiting is the placement.  Since the island is somewhat small, the challenge was to create the illusion of space without building new cabinets.  To accomplish this, the designer chose to darken the center cabinet and install a dark countertop.  With a choice of a smoothtop downdraft cooktop, the surface looks larger when you are standing next to it yet almost disappears when you look at it from a distance.
Striped wallpaper was removed and a very light dragged texture was applied.  The homeowner wanted a light glaze  added which helped keep color in the room while using neutral tones.  For the backsplash, a beige colored split-face stone was used as a dry-stack look completing the Bistro feel.  The homeowner also chose a black granite sink which tied the counter tops and center island together.