319 Design

Everyone wants in on demo day 💪🔨

A little behind the scenes of what the early stages of kitchen transformation really looks like, because demo day is a family affair around here!!

Losing an entire wall of cabinets & counter-space can be scary to clients …

… especially when they’re worried about losing valuable storage, prep areas, moving appliances, relocating the sink, and we hear you!

But here’s what you might be forgetting:
✨By removing this pass-through window and the wall of cabinets below it, we were able to add that same 24” of cabinet + counter space to a much larger island.
✨And the result? More storage, more prep space, more seating, a much more functional gathering spot… and the illusion of a way larger space with the open concept between your kitchen and living space.

Who still has this half wall or pass-through window in their kitchen?

Let’s talk about towers… what do you think?

What we have found is, most kitchens have the space, you just have to rethink how it’s being used🧐

For this kitchen, we…
💡swapped the wall oven + microwave for real, functional storage in the form of a tower
💡 replaced the countertop range with a 36” push in unit
💡 tucked a drawer microwave into the island
💡 extended the length of the cabinetry down this wall to create symmetry and maximize functionality

There are SO many ways to lay out a kitchen, and sometimes the answer isn’t adding more space, it’s making better use of the space you already have.

POV: You thought designing kitchens meant pointing at pretty things all day 🤷‍♀️

Here’s a glimpse of the glamorous side of kitchen design vs. the part where we’re actually in the thick of the project!

A lot of times, it’s all hands on deck at the end of a project to get all those final details across the finish line and we LOVE it!!

“How do you pick out a backsplash?” If there’s one decision we see clients get stuck on more often than not, it’s this…

There are SO many combinations of tile, countertops, cabinets, and colors that it can quickly become overwhelming. And then comes the fear that one choice will clash with another or take away from something else you love.

So here’s a general rule of thumb we like to keep in mind when putting it all together! 💡

Apparently, the hardest part of getting a brand new kitchen is saying goodbye to the oven that makes the perfect chocolate chip cookies. 😂🍪

But honestly, this is real life… not every single decision has to happen at once, and not everything needs to be perfectly finished on day one.

You can do things in stages. You can live in your space for a while and figure out what actually works for you. And sometimes, a little delayed gratification means waiting until you find the right appliance instead of just replacing something for the sake of replacing it.

The golden numbers we get asked about all the time: how wide do you make the spaces surrounding your island?

While it can vary depending on the layout, ✨42” is my ideal walkway width✨for a kitchen like this. Here, we had 42” between the island and the sink, as well as behind the stools, giving plenty of room for people to walk through without feeling cramped.

In front of the fridge, we gave ourselves a little extra breathing room and went with 48”.

Questions we bring up AND answer with our clients are…
💡Where are people going to be walking the most?
💡How many people cook in the kitchen at a time?
💡Where are the pinch points in your current kitchen?
💡 How do you plan on actually using the island?

It’s all about how the space is actually going to be used!

What measurements are you curious about?