A Minimal Kitchen Renovation

And By Minimal, We Mean “Mini”!

So many renovation posts begin with the before photo.  Not this one!  We are starting with the photo our contractor text us as he was leaving.  This extremely clean (yes the contractor cleaned!) space is the beginning of the perfect minimal kitchen renovation.

Kitchen Renovation Impressions

Wait…isn’t this supposed to be the first post about a minimal kitchen renovation?  Yes, it is.  However, so much more goes into the design of a small space.  For minimal kitchens, the inspiration often comes in the form of an impression.  At times it is the “feel” of a space, or a single item, that grabs us and sinks in.

Don’t we all have a vision of the impression we want our homes to give?  Like this London apartment designed by Lonika Chande.  This space just feels right with its mix of modern and traditional elements.  A classic color palette with the infusion of color.

For Mr. LBD and moi, we’ve always wanted our homes to be one where everyone, and anyone, can feel welcome at any time they drop in.  At this point in our lives, we have a pretty long list of what we must have in a home.  We invite you to follow us, as we share this list in the next few months and see how we are loving living large in 1300′!   Yes, you read that correctly, thirteen hundred and thirty-six square feet to be exact.

Buying A Property That Needs A Kitchen Renovation

Here’s a photo of the kitchen the day we visited the open house, and Mr. LBD (the tall dark one) more or less staking claim.  Those other lookers didn’t stand a chance of being the ones to renovate this minimal kitchen.

A Quick History

We’ve lived in Florida for 10 years, in 3 homes, and an interim apartment after one of our homes sold in 6 hours!  For more reasons than I want to mention, I complained about being in this state for 9 of these years.  Mostly to shut me up,  Mr. LBD agreed to live in a walkable city, aka the apartment, to see if “we” like living in a smaller space.  Before the lease was up, we had purchased this condo in a building “we” had been looking at for years.

Waiting For City Renovation Permits

Our newfound knowledge of the permitting process within city limits, is that the smaller the kitchen renovation, the longer the permitting takes.  Throw in a world-wide pandemic and the wait is 9 mos.  So in other words, it takes exactly the same amount of time to renovate an 8×11 kitchen as it does to make a human.

To hold us over, we painted the unit and kept our eye on the prize of the upcoming amazing meals the clean, crisp euro style kitchen was going to produce.

Staying Motivated Durning A Kitchen Renovation

After over 30 plus years of being in residence during the numerous renovations of our homes, we have mastered a way to reduce all stress.  We left the state and missed all this!  Choosing the right contractor made this all possible.

Jump Out Of The Box For A Minimal Kitchen Design

Every inch in a minimal kitchen matters…especially negative space.  The original design wrapped both walls with cabinets and appliances.  Being creative with the layout, allowed us to have better storage and open up the space tremendously.

A full wall splash, in the same quartz as the counters, is the backdrop of a floating cooktop exhaust hood.  Did you miss the refrigerator and microwave in the after photo?  Not to worry, they are behind these tall cabinets completly intregrated into the 24″ counter depth.  We’ll share more space saving, yet maxium function features in posts to come.

Choose Simple Inspiration For Minimal Renovations

No, we didn’t have many photos of what we wanted this new home to look like but we do have our minds set on how we want things to feel.  We’re on our way!

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