Kitchen Makeovers
Kitchen Design
A Chef’s Kitchen Renovation in Wine Country
A team of design professionals helps transform a Sonoma County recipe tester’s family den into her dream kitchen
Using Houzz during the remodel helped keep them on track. “We used Houzz a lot for inspirational things. Definitely in the beginning, I had ideabooks of things I liked,†Amy says. “I like things to have their place. I’m very organized, whether it’s my writing or projects; I knew I wanted my kitchen to be that way too.â€
Living in the home for more than a decade had given Amy plenty of time to consider a new kitchen layout. “I had a long time to think about where things should be,†she says. “I’m very practical and never thought I’d have a kitchen as big as this is. It’s been a game changer for our family, for my work, for everything. I knew, if I was standing at the sink, where things should be in my head. I couldn’t be more pleased.â€
How to Create and Use Ideabooks
Living in the home for more than a decade had given Amy plenty of time to consider a new kitchen layout. “I had a long time to think about where things should be,†she says. “I’m very practical and never thought I’d have a kitchen as big as this is. It’s been a game changer for our family, for my work, for everything. I knew, if I was standing at the sink, where things should be in my head. I couldn’t be more pleased.â€
How to Create and Use Ideabooks
Before: This is the space when it was a family room and den, which previous homeowners added in the 1980s. About four years ago, Amy realized this room would make a great kitchen. Putting the range where the wood-burning stove was made sense since there was already a hole in the roof for venting. Septic was also on that wall, so that’s where the sink went.
The windows and an “odd little door†to the right of them were replaced with sliding glass French doors. A bump-out and nook in that area were removed. “We technically lost square footage there,†Amy says. “It was a nook that used to pop out a tiny bit.â€
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The windows and an “odd little door†to the right of them were replaced with sliding glass French doors. A bump-out and nook in that area were removed. “We technically lost square footage there,†Amy says. “It was a nook that used to pop out a tiny bit.â€
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After: Painter Bruce Baggenstos used creamy white Swiss Coffee from Kelly-Moore on the walls, ceiling and beams, which brightened the room immensely. Rather than the traditional kitchen triangle layout connecting the refrigerator, stove and sink, the new kitchen has several zones, including a baking zone and a bar zone on either side of the refrigerator. The range and sink on the opposite wall are easily accessed by walking between the two islands.
Kitchen Evolution: Work Zones Replace the Triangle
Kitchen Evolution: Work Zones Replace the Triangle
Before: This is the cramped kitchen space the couple used for more than 10 years. The pass-through window leads to Amy’s office and storage area. “I hated the lighting, that fluorescent light,†she says.
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Before: There was a lack of space and storage in the old kitchen. “Everything about it felt cramped and heavy. You would never know from looking at that, that I don’t like clutter,†Amy says. “Because of the nature of the work I do, I have a fair amount of equipment and supplies, so space became an issue. I would have to stop and clean up just to carve a hole.â€
Hire a local kitchen designer
Hire a local kitchen designer
After: The team removed the wall with the pass-through window and the newly enlarged space became what Amy calls the family office, which is located next to the new kitchen. “We reframed out the ceiling since it was load-bearing,†she says. “The kitchen and the workspace and office became one large room. In both the kitchen and the new office, we took out all of the sheet rock and had it down to the studs.â€
The blue-and-gray porcelain hexagonal floor tiles and the shelving’s blue paint, which is the same shade used for the islands, visually connect the spaces.
Floor tile: Saigon Black, Saigon Blue, Saigon Light Grey, Artistic Tile, from Ceramic Tile Center
The blue-and-gray porcelain hexagonal floor tiles and the shelving’s blue paint, which is the same shade used for the islands, visually connect the spaces.
Floor tile: Saigon Black, Saigon Blue, Saigon Light Grey, Artistic Tile, from Ceramic Tile Center
Before: Here’s a look at the former office workspace, on the other side of the old kitchen’s pass-through window. The window was eventually narrowed to accommodate bookshelves in the new office.
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Find a kitchen contractor near you
After: This view of Amy between the two islands is from the office. She tends to use the smaller island as a prep area, where cutting boards, baking sheets and cooling racks are stored. The larger island has plenty of seating and additional storage, including big drawers for pots and pans and smaller drawers for spices. “The two islands have been a huge win for us,†Amy says.
How to Design a Kitchen Island
How to Design a Kitchen Island
One large island would have blocked traffic flow; having two makes it easier to get to the refrigerator and baking area from the range and sink on the opposite wall. The pros from Rhyne Design Cabinets in nearby Sebastopol painted the islands a custom color from Kelly-Moore that was based on Rocky’s sample of the blue-gray used on outdoor walls in the home’s barbecue area.
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Hire a local cabinet professional
The user-friendly aspect of the kitchen is one of the things Amy likes most. “The combination and layout allows it to be well-organized … and the ease of it being a couple steps to the pantry, then back to the stove, is very helpful,†she says.
Amy’s favorite part of the kitchen is the baking zone, where everything has a place. She’s worked on several baking books, including the Bouchon Bakery cookbook, and baking is what she loves the most. “I do savory testing and cooking, but if I had to pick something I enjoy, it’s the baking, and really bread,†she says. The wooden sign on the wall is part of an antique crate from the Keebler baking company, which started in Philadelphia, where Amy is originally from.
Here’s a closer look at the baking zone. The appliance in the open cabinet on the lower left shelf is an electric Rofco bread oven, which Amy got from Pleasant Hill Grain in Nebraska. A baker she knows recommended the Rofco. “I ended up doing four bread projects in a row and sort of became the bread tester,†Amy says. The oven is stone-lined and uses conductive, radiant and convective heat transfer.
The countertops in the baking area are Carrara marble. “I’m simple; I didn’t want big patterns on countertops,†Amy says. “I know from the fancy kitchens I’ve worked in that marble can etch if you put acid on it, such as lemon juice, and can leave a red wine ring. I didn’t want that for the whole kitchen, but I wanted it for baking, pastries, bread making. I wanted that corner to be cooler.â€
Countertops: Bedrosians Tile & Stone
Countertops: Bedrosians Tile & Stone
The small pantry next to the bread oven has pullout drawers and is specifically used for baking supplies.
Cabinet paint: San Francisco Fog, Kelly-Moore
Simple Pleasures: The Joy of Baking
Cabinet paint: San Francisco Fog, Kelly-Moore
Simple Pleasures: The Joy of Baking
Amy wanted a mix of open shelving and closed cabinetry. The floating shelves allow her to display gifts and sentimental items. The rolling pin and green-handled scoop are from her father’s Pennsylvania Dutch relatives. The white bowl, platter with green border and two small platters underneath are from her mother’s side of the family.
The photo is of Amy and chef Jacques Pepin from a project she worked on with him. “He is one of the coolest people I have ever had the opportunity to be around — giving of his time, his stories and his knowledge in a way few can,†she says. “To say he is special is an understatement. I am very lucky to know him.â€
The photo is of Amy and chef Jacques Pepin from a project she worked on with him. “He is one of the coolest people I have ever had the opportunity to be around — giving of his time, his stories and his knowledge in a way few can,†she says. “To say he is special is an understatement. I am very lucky to know him.â€
A combination of shallow and deep drawers makes it easier for Amy to find what she’s looking for.
Pulling Power: Clever Drawer Tactics for a Kitchen
Pulling Power: Clever Drawer Tactics for a Kitchen
Last but not least in the baking zone is a rolling rack that Amy bought at a restaurant supply store. It holds baking sheets and other supplies and tucks nicely under the baking pantry and bread oven. Next to it is a dog food container, and next to that is the container that holds flour, which Amy buys in 50-pound sacks.
The floors are polished concrete. Amy intends to get comfort mats to help with long periods of standing. Rocky installed the wood trim around the sliding glass door using lumber from a friend’s mill in Mendocino. Instead of applying a commercial stain, he used stainless steel nails soaked in vinegar to create a unique look on the wood.
Concrete Flooring Stands Up to the Test in the Kitchen
Concrete Flooring Stands Up to the Test in the Kitchen
The wooden utensils on the wall came from the Pennsylvania farm of Amy’s great-grandfather; she inherited them after her father passed away several years ago. “My dad kept them in the stairwell of our home along with a lot of other things,†she says. “I wanted them to be clear of clutter and visible to me every day. I know my dad would be happy to see them like this too.â€
Practical and efficient storage was part of the kitchen zone plan. Amy keeps heavy pots and pans, baking dishes and other supplies in drawers by the oven. Most of the “practical stuff†is kept by the sink and dishwashers, she says, and the silverware drawers are next to the dishwasher.
Plenty of drawer space makes cutlery and tools easy to find.
The countertops in this area of the kitchen are Absolute Black granite in a leathered finish from Bedrosians Tile & Stone.
Dishwasher: KitchenAid
Dishwasher: KitchenAid
The 36-inch-wide BlueStar range was Amy’s big splurge. “I like the 36 inches because you can put two full pans in it side by side. I had to think in terms of recipe testing,†she says. The persimmon color of one of her Heath Ceramics bowls inspired the Signal Orange color of the range.
In this photo, Amy is baking bread. She tends to make it in large batches and on this day was using both the Rofco bread oven and the range. The steam is for baguettes and is created in a preheated cast-iron skillet she puts ice into.
The range has a stainless steel back guard. The hood is heavy-duty commercial-grade stainless steel and is also from BlueStar. Amy says she rarely turns the television on but that it comes in handy for entertaining. “We had a fun Super Bowl party; people wanted to hang out in the kitchen anyway. The TV is a nice add-on but not integral,†she says.
One of the reasons Amy wanted some open shelving was to display favorite items such as her pottery, shown here beneath the TV.
This is the bar zone area of the kitchen. The tall cabinets next to it form the pantry, a vast improvement from before the remodel, when the pantry was in the garage.
The bar area has its own storage, including pullouts for heavy bottles and a stainless steel double refrigerator drawer from KitchenAid. “I knew I wanted my husband to have a bar space in the kitchen, and I also knew from sheer practicality that when I used to look at my old fridge, there were so many beverages in there, so we got the KitchenAid fridge drawers,†Amy says.
After: And here’s the amazing transformation into a kitchen fit for a pro. “It was a long time coming for us,†Amy says. “It feels like we made good choices and makes us super happy.â€
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My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
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See more of this home
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
More on Houzz
See other home tours
Find an interior designer
Shop for home products
Kitchen and Office at a Glance
Who lives here: Amy and Rocky Vogler, their 6-year-old daughter and their Labrador mix
Location: Kenwood, California
Size: New kitchen: 320 square feet (30 square meters); new office: 280 square feet (26 square meters); total home: 1,500 square feet (139 square meters); two bedrooms, two baths
This kitchen in Kenwood, California, was a long time coming for cooking professional Amy Vogler. She and her husband, Rocky, lived in the 1970s-era house for more than 10 years before deciding to flip the locations of the kitchen and family room. Since moving into the house in 2007, the couple had done a lot of work to modernize the home before tackling the kitchen. “It definitely had a lot of that ’70s, ’80s look — bold wallpaper, carpet,†Amy says.
Amy, of Wooden Spoon Kitchen, develops, tests and writes recipes for cookbooks and is also a producer on video and television projects, cooking apps and websites. The previous kitchen and adjacent workspace were cramped, and storage space was minimal.
Amy and Rocky worked with architect Malcolm Yuill-Thornton on preliminary designs and drawings. They hired contractor Mike Samuelson for construction work and Baggenstos & Associates for painting. Local pro Rhyne Design Cabinets did the custom cabinetry. Rocky, a civil engineer and former carpenter, did a lot of the work himself.
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