Elbow room Elbow room (May 21, 2004)

Tripling the kitchen size was high priority

By Sharael Feist

When Linda Dewi and her husband purchased their Los Altos home in 1996, she wasn't too concerned with the tiny 10-foot by 8-foot kitchen. Four years later, making the kitchen larger was the first thing on their to-fix list.

"It was a one-person kitchen, very small and dark," Dewi said. "It was so cramped that when the oven door was open, nobody else could stand behind you. There was no counter space. The small appliances took up all the room, leaving no space to chop."

Flipping through the Yellow Pages, Dewi found designer Patrice Greene. Although Greene didn't have extensive experience at the time, Dewi had a good feeling about her.

"She was willing to go the extra mile and go along with what we wanted," Dewi said. "It was a win-win for both of us."

To get ideas for the kitchen remodel, Dewi went to as many open houses as she could, clipped pictures from magazines, and started making a list of requirements. Once she knew what she wanted, she then sat down with Greene to finalize the project.

The kitchen had white cabinets, standard fixtures, laminate counters and Pergo flooring.

"I knew I wanted a warmer tone -- brown, instead of white," Dewi said.

The new kitchen sports black granite counter tops, maple and cherry cabinets, oak flooring, a Thermador range, SubZero refrigerator and Benjamin Moore paint in softer colors.

"Our goal was to make the kitchen usable, and also to create extra storage," Greene said.

The kitchen was enlarged to 18 feet by 18 feet by expanding into the back yard. The new kitchen featured an island bar with seating, a prep sink, a walk-in pantry and custom cabinets with pullout drawers for storing pots and pans, spices and knives.

"The old kitchen was more appropriate for an apartment than a home," said contractor Chris Donatelli. "The 1950s-era house needed to be updated and customized to the needs of the new homeowners."

Lighting was another major component in the redo, with new dimmers, recessed lights and under-cabinet lights added to brighten the room, as well as skylights for natural lighting.

"It's now a pleasant place to be. The details, like the custom cabinetry, add flavor," Donatelli said.

In addition to the kitchen remodel, Dewi also had other changes made to the house, including reconfiguring and refinishing the bathrooms, replacing all the fixtures, building a new entry, rebuilding the living room cabinets and fireplace mantel and adding a new composition-shingle roof.

"This project combined several small changes and one drastic change to create a new, modern living space," Donatelli said.

During the remodel, Dewi and her husband lived in a cottage in their back yard. They thought it would be a temporary arrangement that would last only six months. Unfortunately, the entire remodel ended up taking a year and a half, which meant cooking meals with an electric burner, a crock pot and a triangle sink in the bathroom.

According to Donatelli, projects don't always go as planned, which can lead to delays. This project took longer due to the difficulty in acquiring materials for the custom cabinetry, the owners requesting 35 changes during construction, and including the landscaping in the finished project.

Dewi did run into an unexpected snag along the way. When the cabinetry finally arrived, it was the opposite of what she had requested -- cherry in the middle with maple trim, rather than the other way around. Not wanting to wait any longer, she decided to keep it.

"They've improved their property value tremendously," Greene said. "It was one of my favorite projects because it changed so much and they are very happy."

Design challenge:
Triple the size of the kitchen, while giving it a new look with more usable space

Unexpected problems: Custom cabinetry took longer than expected due to difficulty getting materials -- then arrived wrong.

Year house built: 1950

Time to complete: 1 1/2 years

Size of home: House remodeled from 1,852 sq. ft. to 2,259 sq. ft.; kitchen added 365 sq. ft.

Budget: Entire home remodel and landscaping was close to $400,000

Resources:
Building contractor: Chris Donatelli, Donatelli Castillo Builders, 534 Horning St., San Jose; (408) 287-4886
Interior designer: Patrice Greene, Dzign IT, 22624 Voss Ave., Suite A, Cupertino; (408) 446-1122

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