Waco Kitchen Renovation for a Big Family

I had admired this friend’s skills for years. She has 6 kids and systems in place to make them all independent contributing members of society. They learn to do their own laundry at 8 years old, their own rite of passage. I heard her speak about chore charts and meal planning and thought she was super Mom for sure.

So when Michelle called and asked if I could design her kitchen, I said yes! She lives in a beautiful neighborhood in central Waco and her custom home was built in 1949. I love the round window in the front bathroom, and the huge picture frame windows on the front. Her yard is massive and well cared for.

They had been updating their home over the years on their own, but with their kids growing up they were ready for it to be done all at once. And for someone else to plan it. I was beyond excited!

Let me be transparent. All my designing up to this point was for houses we owned or co-owned. Up until now, I just gave advice here and there to people who asked. Nobody had hired me as a designer. Also, pretty much every designed house I’d done was a collaboration with my sister (except the 6 weeks her family was in New Zealand…I did Cameron Park Farmhouse and half of South Haven on my own during that and only mildly resented her for being gone.) Ha.

I felt ready. I went to her house and asked her what she wanted and I LOVED what she said: Well, look around my house, at the updates we’ve made, and tell me what you think. I’m open to whatever you think! Whaaat? Throughout the whole renovation, she was the sweetest, easiest, most agreeable client ever. I loved working for her.

Ready to see some before pics? The original owner designed this kitchen with a modern style. However, this version of modern had become stale for Michelle. Some things about it bugged her.

BEFORE

Here you’re walking from the front door, past the first living room, into the dining room and then we curve into the kitchen area.

This angle was a bit boring. With the header being support beams, we couldn’t open it up completely. So we opted for trim work to finish it out.

See the half cabinets above the refrigerator? These were hard to reach and didn’t hold a lot of items. Encasing fridges has become standard in custom homes.

With the second oven here being black, I decided to hide it and chose black for the island color. Keep scrolling!

Notice the baby cabinet on the left? And the dropped cabinet on the right? Look below, this uneven mixture bothered them.

She really didn’t like that the island didn’t have pulls on them all, many of the cabinet faces were old and the hinges needed replacing.

She was ready for a new sink, fixtures and electrical.

They built this bar area to allow extra space for their kids to eat breakfast and work on homeschool days. It wasn’t sturdy but they wanted to keep the concept.

Straight ahead is a peninsula that blocked flow with a family of 8. We decided to knock that out and make the cabinets run straight into a new bar.

AFTER

Alright, all the before pictures are covered! Ready for the Afters? Let’s go!

Here is the angle from the dining room. We did replace the light fixture in here and extended the board and batten across the wall on the right. Honestly, my contractor talked her into that one day. Contractors love adding their ideas. Just make sure you trust yours or have an understanding about additions when you hire someone!