DIY pro Nicole Pankopf's family was living out of the country when they bought a home in Denver. She knew she needed to reimagine the kitchen, the heart of her dream home, with an invisible design.
“Since we weren't able to see the house in person until closing day, we designed the kitchen renovation based on property photos. It was a little dated for our tastes, so we knew it would need an update. ” Pankop says. “The original kitchen was very small and had low ceilings. I don't really like cooking, but I love entertaining! I wanted to create an open kitchen that would be convenient for family gatherings.”
Having three “always hungry” sons may have been a factor in the need for the redesign, but no matter what, the kitchen will always be a place where people gather. Pankop says. “As we learned in our previous home, it doesn't matter where everyone gathers; eventually everyone will end up hanging out around the kitchen island,” she explains. “So the kitchen design was based around a large island.”
Before moving in, she sketched out the outline of the kitchen she envisioned. These included clever ideas for a large island, pantry wall, clever storage spots, cabinets, backsplash, and countertops. Pankop is not an expert on residential projects, but he knew he would have to work with a contractor for most of the updates. The contractor removed non-load-bearing walls, moved appliances to match Pankop's proposed layout, and repaired damage caused by wall movement. When she moved in, her kitchen was a clean slate and ready for her to make her own mark.
Pankop chose ready-to-assemble lower cabinets in a light gray paint color, assembled them himself, assembled the cabinet boxes, and used red oak for the upper, wall, and island cabinets. She also ordered the red oak Shaker cabinet doors, which she stained and sealed herself.
“After experimenting with several different dye combinations, we came up with one that softened the reddish tone of the wood without sacrificing its warmth,” she says.
Pankop had decided to use a dark stone for the countertops, but she didn't want it to be polished or natural because her sons would likely “stand up to a lot of wear and tear.” did. She chose a honed quartz countertop reminiscent of soapstone for this space.
Since the countertops and cabinets were dark, Pankop wanted a contrasting backsplash. “She decided to use brightly colored tiles, but added depth and dimension with her zellige tiles,” she explains.
The kitchen took about four months to complete, but it's now the rightful center of the home, just as Pankop had originally envisioned. What is her favorite space? A huge island. “Just as I expected, there's a lot of space to gather when having fun,” she says. “I also love seeing islands full of food! This allows me to have a large selection of appetizers when hosting.”
The kitchen is gorgeous, yet also very functional. Pankop built an appliance garage with a tambour door to keep items like toasters and blenders off the kitchen counter. After moving the kitchen sink, another storage hack opportunity presented itself.
“According to the layout of the cabinets, the openings were too small to fit into a standard cabinet. After considering all options, we decided to build an oversized serving tray,” Pankop says. “I love large serving trays, but they're hard to store. I built both a custom tray and a storage cabinet to store them in. I love how they turned out and use them all the time.” For more smart cabinet storage ideas, check out these creative small kitchen and cabinet storage ideas.
