Assemble the right ingredients

Article by: BY CANDICE OLSON , Scripps Howard News Service
Updated: May 12, 2012 - 1:37 PM

This open-concept kitchen/family room was more factory than functional, but a sleek, cohesive makeover was the recipe for success.

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AFTER: Sleek cabinetry and hidden pipes transform the loft’s kitchen.

Photo: , HGTV

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THE PROBLEM

Dated, condo-sized appliances, a mishmash of student-type furniture and accessories, and a lack of storage space all combined to make this kitchen distinctly unappetizing.

THE SOLUTION

Interior decorator Candice Olson's recipe for transformation included a smidge of uptown urban, a dash of rustic retro and a pinch of factory functional.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Renovations started from the ground up, with the manufacture and installation of a custom hardwood floor crafted from hand-scraped hickory planks. The scraping gives the boards a textured, weathered look that melds with the loft's historical aspects.

• The kitchen was reconfigured to make it more functional and efficient. The dated appliances were banished, and electrical lines were relocated across the room to allow for installation of a sleek, built-in cook top. Floor-to-ceiling, espresso-hued cabinetry solve the couple's storage dilemmas. Continuing the cabinetry from kitchen to family room harmonizes this double-duty space, transforming it into entertainment central.

• A new dishwasher and fridge (both concealed behind cabinet doors) and a combination oven/convection microwave completed the appliance checklist. The kitchen area came together with a trio of counter stools, stainless-steel accessories and decorative pieces.

• The globe-shaped lights illuminate a natural quartz countertop in blizzard white, which is both stylish and durable. A back-painted glass backsplash, also white, provides the perfect contrast to the dark cabinets.

BEST TRICK

A soundproofed bulkhead dropped from the ceiling conceals the plumbing stack. Besides muffling any unsavory sounds, the new iron-gray bulkhead also conceals pipes and provides the perfect place from which to hang eight gold-and-silver pendant lights.

Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. Interior decorator Candice Olson hosts "Candice Tells All," which appears Saturdays at 7 p.m. on HGTV.