UBC kitchen remodel - Traditional style, lots of light

Effective use of dramatic shades in this UBC kitchen remodel

This UBC kitchen remodel project took place in a residential high-rise on the UBC endowment lands. A kitchen from the 90’s desperately needed to be expanded and updated into the new millennia.

Demo

The first task was to remove and dispose of all the old cabinets, tiles and finishing, as well as most of the drywall on the walls. A partition wall was removed to open up the dark and dingy kitchen space that it was. This presented a few challenges because within the wall to be moved were utilities that penetrating the concrete slab from above and below, and could not be moved; electrical services penetrating the slab from above, and water lines penetrating the concrete slab from below.

Problem solved

To expand the kitchen floor space, one of the challenges was to move the water lines about 10″ toward the dining room where the new pony wall and base cabinets were to be placed. Since the floor was concrete slab, a creative strategy had to be devised to move these pipes back, even though they came through the concrete floor slab and could not be moved. We managed to divert the pipes 90 degrees and run them parallel to the floor only 3″ above the floor slab. This positioned them below the kick space beneath the base cabinets. This allowed us to bring them into the pony wall behind the base cabinets where they belonged in the new layout. The electrical wires were diverted in much the same way but within a new suspended ceiling that SKG built for this purpose, and to contain the new recessed light fixtures soon to be installed.

A beautiful expansive entertaining space

This UBC kitchen remodel creates a large bright open space, with an extended bank of cabinets on the fridge wall and a 8′ long peninsula with a 14″ breakfast bar extension. The new larger 4.5′ wide floor space allows the cook and guests to move about the kitchen without feeling cramped. The new KitchenCraft cabinets with panelled dark cherry doors, adds a touch of traditional elegance. The sink and dishwasher are contained in the peninsula, with a premium Blanco Silgranit sink and faucet. A mosaic glass tile backsplash was also installed as well as LED undercabinet lighting to highlight it’s beauty. As well as concealing the electrical wires, the new 7″ dropped ceiling serves to contain a large bank of 4″ recessed LED fixtures directly over the perimeter of the counter. This dramatic lighting design serves to highlight the beauty of the cabinet door face as well as provide an abundance of “task” lighting directly over the kitchen prep surface. Another benefit of the recessed lighting was to highlight the brilliant and dramatic black and white granite countertop. This slab is a rare variety not seen often in this new age of “artificial stone” countertops. Large porcelain tiles were also installed across the kitchen floor surface and into the front entryway. This UBC kitchen remodel created a modern and efficient kitchen with traditional design features.