Our house was built in 1996 and the kitchen was original.  In our neighborhood, we saw many homes do partial Kitchen renovations and through that, we decided that we wanted to do a full renovation.  This allowed us to start from scratch.  We waited 8 years (from time of purchase to reno.)   Now we could have done updates but we wanted a kitchen of our own.  We had two criteria’s when renovating.  We wanted clean lines and more natural light. To get clean lines we went with a modern style and incorporated as much natural stone as possible. The floating shelfs also added to the clean look.  To get more natural light we knocked out a south wall that separated the kitchen from the dining and front living area.  This allowed the light from the south to pour through to the kitchen.  In addition, we wanted the kitchen to flow into the rest of the house – To accomplish this we raised the entryway to the back living area too and installed unfinished 5″ white oak flooring throughout the entire first floor.  We then had floors sanded and stained to the desired color. Kevin Reiner Design (KRD), Granville, OH, designed the entire kitchen (http://www.kevinreinerdesign.com/home). 

KRD has been featured in many publications and their design work is in many homes across the United States. Their focus is on clean lines, bringing the outdoors in and lighting. (Much more info can be gleaned from his website).

Nightingale Co, Rochester, MI, was one of many contractors that we looked at to complete the project (http://www.nightingalecompany.com/).  We chose Nightingale and his company to complete our project because we could tell through our meetings that they were the most qualified.  They had project owners, dedicated crews and many projects both residential and business that showed their body of work and quality. Project timeline and budget were managed through an online tool that made it easy to see the project plan and scope. (Again much more can be found on their website).

We are super happy with the kitchen renovation.  The style, function and finished product is high quality and sophisticated.   For us the kitchen is truly a place where we eat, laugh, talk about our days and, during the school year, do homework.  It is by far our favorite place in the house and will be for many years to come. 

Thank you to the many people that made it come together and special thanks to Andrew Miller for building all the cabinetry (appliance covers, pantry and island).  The cabinetry fit and finish far exceeded our expectations.   

A new home built near the little town of Wakarusa Indiana, is as rustic as it is modern.

Yes, once in a while I do luck out and get jobs in my own backyard. This kitchen is built out of 1/4 sawn rustic white oak and then it was wire brushed for a textured finish. I then stained the completed cabinets Storm Grey, and then applied a white glaze to enhance the grain and appearance of texture.

The kitchen is an open design with 10′ ceilings with the uppers going all the way up. The top of the upper cabinets have glass doors and are backlit to add the the industrial feel. This kitchen features several nice custom organizers on each end of the front of the island with two hidden doors on the back of the island for storage.

Kelly and Carla also had me build custom cabinets for the master bath to match the kitchen. The hardwood floors are wire-brushed hickory and installed by Michael Bennett (574.807.1574) of Principle Flooring and Interiors. The countertops were fabricated by Leading Edge Countertops of Milford.

This is the first of two new homes next door to each other that Caitlyn’s dad is building for her and her sister.

This beautiful new home on Pine Lake features a painted hard maple kitchen. Most of this modern kitchen is painted Decorator White while the island is painted slate grey.  The style that Caitlyn decided on is a Mission / Shaker with flush inset doors. The quartz countertops are by Lehman’s Solid Surface of Nappanee (574.773.3853). Note the white cast iron farmers sink that compliments both the quartz countertops and the cabinets. Also take notice of the pantry next to the refrigerator, the custom pull-out organizers on each side of the stove , the custom waste pull-out, and the EZ Reach upper corner cabinet.

The detailed trim work, with flat verticals and a gorgeous beaded cove to finish off the top. 

I also built the custom cabinetry for the master bath, two smaller guest bathrooms and the laundry room.  The master bath is in a partial full overlay with a furniture style base built into the cabinet for a traditional elegant look. The cabinetry in the baths are all also painted Decorator White on hard maple. 

I should have pictures from the project next door posted here on the web site by mid-summer 2018

Tucked in a quiet neighborhood in Valparaiso is a elegant home sporting a very new and extraordinary kitchen.

Having gone from a white painted kitchen, John and Kristine wanted a more traditional look and feel when they remodeled their kitchen / family / dining great room. They chose rustic hickory cabinetry complemented with hardwood floors throughout. Full overlay 3″ shaker style in the main part of the kitchen with the island and nook /booth area painted slate grey with a brown glaze and rub through /distressed finish.

Numerous custom amenities include: liquor pullout, spice drawers, a custom arch above the sink, multiple pull-up appliance garages, giant ceramic farm sink, pull-out waste, custom bar area and a nook seating area.

The wood tops on part of the island, entertainment area in the family room and seats in the nook were all built out of church pews that were taken out of the Valparaiso University Chapel a few years back and repurposed.  We also built a beautiful custom table and small benches for the nook from the same repurposed pews. 

One of the WOW factors in the kitchen is a big commercial cooktop with an automated downdraft that rises up out of the countertop when you need it.

Also note the knotty alder beams in the family room and nook area that Legacy Wood Creations built as well.

The contractor doing the installation, Gene Moench showed a lot of attention to detail throughout the entire project and I would recommend him to anyone.

On the edge of Indiana Dunes State Park…

…is a beautiful home in the woods in which live two gentle labradors and a family that loves life.

The Read family has lived in this home as they have built it over the last 20 years and it became apparent to them that it was time to replace the dated kitchen with an expansive, warm, timeless and inviting room to better compliment the feel of the rest of the house.

We chose 1/4 sawn white oak and a full overlay stained in beautiful Michael’s Cherry for the cabinets.  Note the timeless Arts and Crafts styled mullions on the shaker style doors, matching the trim above. This kitchen also features appliques above the sink along the top if the window and numerous pullouts for function throughout.

In the pictures notice also the hall side cabinet that greets guests before they enter the kitchen / dining / living room spaces.

Truly a custom project in all phases, I had a lot of fun engineering and then building this kitchen for the Read Family. I worked with a great contractor , Thomas Metzger of NWI Home Improvement (his phone number is 219.613.4103) did the installation of the kitchen, trim, and flooring throughout the house.

A couple provided “before” pictures