Kitchen Renovation Ideas

I love Craftsman and Prairie style architecture. I have since visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin when I was about 16.

a Craftsman bungalow

When we moved to Minneapolis, I thought we would buy one of the city's abundant 1920s-era homes, but none that we saw fit both our desired size and budget. So we have a home built in 1960 that, despite its long and narrow layout, is really growing on me.

our house

Chris and I moved into this house in December 2007 with top to bottom renovations in mind. We even considered adding a second story, but have since decided against the idea. To date, we have completed exactly one thing: a new electrical panel. However, we are now ready to tackle the renovation that tops our list in terms of desire, expense, and life disruption. The kitchen. Ah, how exciting! If only our contractor of choice could spend a couple of weeks here. Jon has a family, including a new baby due any day, so we will do what we can, welcome his help anytime he's available, and hire out the rest.

We've taken the kitchen renovation process quite slowly, which has given both of us time to find way too many photos of our dream kitchen. While Chris and I are both aware that our kitchen will be fully rooted in reality, allow me to share a few photos of kitchens I love:



What do I love about these kitchens? They are big, bright, and ready for some serious cooking and baking. They also have a timeless, classic look. Kitchens like these fit with the style of a home 100 years ago (minus the high end appliances!) and still look great today. Perhaps I can have my 1920s home after all! Cabinets to the ceiling, lots of storage, commercial appliances, marble countertops that seem to be begging to have a pie crust rolled out on them. They all have large islands, which appear in nearly every kitchen now but that I mostly like for baking. Did I mention that I like to bake?

Our kitchen is 11 feet 6 inches wide, so is not wide enough to accommodate a usable island. We have heard some say that 36 inches is adequate between cabinets, but we tested it and determined that the distance is inadequate for our needs. We have decided to do a peninsula instead, which will provide adequate dough-rolling space as well as seating area.

The images below show the proposed layout for our kitchen. Those who have seen our current kitchen know that the layout is staying mostly the same. We are reversing the location of the refrigerator and the range and opening up the wall between the kitchen and dining room enables us to add the peninsula. The sink is not shown here, but will be located below the window to the right of the dishwasher.


We will use cabinets to give the refrigerator a built in appearance. A microwave will go above the range.


If Chris had a blog (and how I wish he did), he would show you some similar and some very different kitchens. It seems unlikely to me that any couple has the exact same sense of style. Chris and I like (and dislike) some of the same things, but also have differing opinions on others. This can make selecting finishes a challenge at times. Chris would probably say that I get whatever I want, while I would contend that what we select is usually some kind of compromise in my mind as well. I admit that most of the compromising I've done with the kitchen selections (and possibly other things) has been internal. As in, I really want the $8,500 Viking range but I will get the $1,300 KitchenAid instead. Maybe I should call that "common sense" rather than "compromise"?

Chris has done a wonderful job of reminding me that this is not our dream kitchen and also that I can't have everything I want (but why?), while at the same time usually acquiescing when I have my heart set on something. Just mention granite countertops to him. On second thought, don't. Or at least wait until our countertops are installed and it's too late!

While we have not finalized our choices, we are leaning toward the finishes shown below: White cabinets, black countertop, espresso brown wood floors.

The backsplash shown above (the multi-colored mosaic) is probably not what we will use, as we have decided it's busier and more trendy than the timeless look we are going for. See dream kitchens above for the look I would like to emulate (on a budget and with at least some eco-friendly/local/recycled/low maintenance products).

The nice thing about the backsplash is that we can do that at any time after the kitchen is completed. I was in my house in Michigan for a year before my backsplash was completed. That won't happen in this house, though! Here are a few of the backsplash ideas we are considering:

white or marble subway tile with dark grout

hex tiles (typically a floor tile, but could be an interesting backsplash!)


rustic stone (maybe dark gray?)

The cabinets are IKEA Adel White and will have black door pulls. Our decision to use IKEA cabinets was one of the first and certainly easiest in this process. Many people think of IKEA as being cheap (and some of it is), but the cabinets have a good reputation for quality. The boxes are nothing special, but the hardware (hinges, drawer runners) is sturdy. The cabinet doors are frameless, which is a higher end look (although I love inset doors like those shown in the dream kitchens, but those tend to be very pricey). We also like Adel Medium Brown, as shown on the IKEA website, but I think we have settled on white. Chad used a different style and color IKEA cabinets in his kitchen, so if an architect chooses them for his home they must be good cabinets!

Choosing a countertop has been as difficult as selecting cabinets was easy.

Granite is so common in kitchens and the price has really come down. In fact, it was one of the most affordable materials we looked at. Granite's price decline is probably caused either by its ubiquity or because of potential radon off-gassing (or both). The distance granite travels (although there are local quarries) was another negative for me, as was the fact that it is a finite resource. Chris has mixed feelings about it, as he really loved the look of some of the more dramatic patterns that cannot be replicated by other materials. However, we both feel good about selecting a different material!

We looked at several recycled countertop materials, some of which were easy to eliminate: plastic bottles (too plastic-y looking), paper and/or cardboard (too easily scratched), colored glass (outrageously expensive).

More affordable recycled glass options were available, but by more affordable I mean they were still twice the price of a material like granite. Soapstone, limestone, marble, zinc...any of those stone materials would have been lovely, but they are not practical in active kitchens. We also looked at concrete and really like it, but at some point in the process we got tired of considering new materials and schlepping around town looking at countertops!

I think we have decided to go with Cambria in black.


Cambria is made from quartz, similar to Silestone, Caesarstone, Zodiaq, Vitera, the list goes on. Cambria appeals to me because it is a Minnesota company and the product is the only quartz countertop made in the U.S. Quartz is not the most eco-friendly option, but at least it is local. This material also has some excellent features (rated #1 by Consumer Reports) such as that it is highly durable, requires almost no maintenance, and is non-porous. We are still giving this some thought so it is subject to change. It's a good thing we are not on a time schedule!

We will remove the existing wall between the kitchen and dining room and will extend the home's original hardwood floors into the kitchen. The hardwood floors on the main level are half-inch oak with a natural finish. We plan to refinish them with a mahogany or espresso stain, as shown below.

Or perhaps something with a bit more of a cherry finish.


Was this the longest post I've ever written? I had a lot to say! We welcome thoughts and comments on any of our potential choices.