Not all spacious kitchens are created equal and this kitchen renovation in Hidden Hills, CA shows us that smart design taking into account the way a family actually lives day-to-day is the best way to make a space feel larger.

The Challenge: A Kitchen Renovation in Hidden Hills, CA

Our client, a family of five in Hidden Hills, CA often found themselves dancing around the kitchen. But, no, this isn’t a romantic comedy with endless glasses of wine and joyful evenings spent cooking favorite dishes. 

They were faced with a clunky U-shaped kitchen that was large in square footage only and left little space for moving from sink to oven and back again. Additionally, an awkwardly placed peninsula cut off the flow from the cooking space to the dining space.

Among its other issues, which you can see in the before floor plan below, the sink, trash, dishwasher, cooktop, and ovens were situated so closely together that the space couldn’t accommodate more than one person at a time. A poorly placed door to the dining room created an unusable small counter space. Additionally, storage was minimal –– and shouldn’t the beauty of a large kitchen space be storage, storage, and more storage?!

The family hoped to create a kitchen that felt connected to the family room, resulting in one cohesive cooking, entertaining, and socializing space. They wanted storage. And, most of all, they wanted the ability (and the space!) to gather in the kitchen and cook together.

The Design Process

When most people think kitchen renovation their mind goes straight to expanding the footprint. This kitchen renovation in Hidden Hills, CA didn’t take that route. Yet, it managed to create a space that feels lighter, brighter, and roomier. 

We kicked off with a somewhat unorthodox decision: to relocate the sink between the two windows. The client was initially (and understandably!) unsure of the idea. Typically, you think of a sink in place beneath a window. However, given the layout of the room and the previous issues with crowded workspaces, it seemed that relocating the sink would open up space surrounding the cooktop, while still allowing for proximity to the island.

Then, we looked at how the kitchen related to the rooms around it. We didn’t need to take over valuable real estate from the dining room or the family room. However, we did need to change the way the spaces flowed from one room to the next. We moved the dining room door down the wall about 3 feet to open up room for counter space. This adjustment in layout made an incredible impact. 

Combined with taking the wall down in between the kitchen and family room as shown in the after floor plan, this allowed us to remove the peninsula and install an island, carve out an entire wall of pantry storage, and move the fridge to the space where the dining room door originally stood. It is not an exaggeration to say storage in this kitchen was quadrupled due to these changes and the work we did with Mr. Sawdust Custom Cabinetry.

An added bonus: even with all the added storage, we still had room to add a charming built-in desk.

The Results: A Bright and Family-Friendly Kitchen 

The clients are absolutely thrilled with the end result. They’re able to enjoy their space without having to dance around each other to get from the oven to the refrigerator. They now have a gorgeous, light-filled space that works with their lifestyle. This kitchen renovation shows that a space must be both beautiful and functional, and that a room doesn’t necessarily have to become larger in square footage to become more spacious in use.

Photos by S/Wiley Interior Photography