“I literally sketched the whole thing out on a napkin,” Melanie said.
Melanie dreamed of remodeling her kitchen for years. She enjoys cooking for her family and hosting friends and wanted to improve the way she spent time with her loved ones. When it was finally time to start the project, Melanie had every design and detail planned out. She just needed the right contractor and products to bring her dream kitchen to life.
Melanie soon learned that “budget wise it would be about $65,000 to do the kitchen with local cabinets.” She wasn’t planning to spend that much, but she also wasn’t willing to compromise on the features she wanted most. Upgrades like inset cabinet doors, a large island and plenty of cabinet storage were non-negotiable for Melanie.
Instead of settling for less, Melanie asked her contractor for other options and they started comparing cabinet costs. They used another brand of online cabinets in a bathroom remodel, but they agreed the construction quality was not high enough for this dream kitchen.
“He came to me and had heard about CliqStudios, but hadn’t used you,” Melanie said. “He said, ‘Let’s just order samples and see what they have.’ He said the construction looked legit and it’s a middle of the road price. Everything seemed like we could realize my dreams.”
In Melanie’s dream kitchen, there would be no shortage of appliances to help her with cooking and cleaning for her family.
“I have two sinks, two fridges, and two dishwashers,” Melanie laughed. “With kids at home, I cook all three meals every day. I always have one clean dishwasher and one dirty and I’m able to have a prep sink and then a sink for dishes.”
In addition to doubling up her most-used appliances, she also wanted to hide one: the refrigerator. When she found out CliqStudios could incorporate a cabinet front refrigerator into her design, she was thrilled.
“My favorite, favorite, is definitely the fridge,” Melanie said. “It’s like a spaceship. I love how it’s hidden and the handles on it.”
To make an open kitchen that worked for the whole family, walls would need to come down.
“The whole floorplan changed because we took out walls between the kitchen and a formal sitting room we never used,” Melanie described. “The square footage of the kitchen didn’t actually change, but it seems like the whole space is twice the size. I can entertain about 20 people at a time. Now I entertain more because I actually have the space for it.”
To help her with hosting, she also added a Butler’s pantry in the hallway between the kitchen and the formal dining room. It has a wine refrigerator and glass front cabinets to store and display bar glasses.
At the center of the remodeled space is a large custom kitchen island. It houses a sink, microwave, spice pull-out and trash pull-out. It also has plenty of space for family and friends to gather around.
“The island is a few inches taller than usual, so you can lean on it and have a glass of champagne and chat,” Melanie described. “It’s one of the first things people notice when they come in, that it’s higher than a normal island. It’s made to lean on and hang around while I’m cooking.”
“The island is a monstrosity and it’s phenomenal,” Melanie exclaimed. “There’s a hallow space in the middle because of its size, so the contractor built it up. Now I have storage in the heart of the island so we don’t have empty space. The height and the size is off the charts and I love it!”
Any one of these features could create a dream kitchen, but all of them in one design create a truly custom kitchen.
“It is quite literally the heart of the home,” Melanie said. “People can sit at the island and see the TV and talk while I’m cooking. It’s a dream kitchen.”
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Rachel
Gorgeous, thoughtful kitchen! Is the range hood from CliqStudios, too? I love it!
CliqStudios Marketing
Hi Rachel. In this case, the homeowner sourced the hood locally and had it painted to match. You can see more of the hood styles that CliqStudios carries here.
Evenstad Karen
Love the “hood “as a focal centerpiece above the stove !
Can you share details as manufacturer , size availability and cost?
Thank you
CliqStudios Marketing
Hi Karen. The homeowner sourced that hood locally. We don’t have information on the specific make or model.
Cindy Keys
Love this kitchen. What is the island measurements? A nd do you offer the sink style?
Dan Jones
It’s great kitchen with a large island that’s approximately 60″ x 60″ (it’s difficult to find solid surface stone tops larger). Sorry but we don’t sell sinks.
keith
Absolutely Beautiful !!. I would like to do something very much like this but a little more budget minded.
Virginia Wilcox
Gorgeous kitchen. Are the panels on the exposed sides of the upper and lower cabinets a custom option?
CliqStudios Digital Marketing
Hi Virginia. The panels you see are Decorative Door Panels. Your CliqStudios designer can add these to upper or lower cabinets as a part of your design. Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Lisa Hall
What cabinet style is this? Austin? I spoke to a design rep yesterday and they said Austin is the only flush mount cabinets and none of the drawers have a shaker panel. I’ve noticed the larger drawers have the shaker look that I want.
Tony D
The posting calls it Austin at the top. I think if you look closely, the top drawers are all smooth, but any successive drawer or cabinet door below has the shaker look you want.
Jolita Mendivil
I love what I saw
Carey Rose
I would love to know where the hardware was purchased – the perfect aged brass.
CliqStudios Social Media
The hardware was sourced locally by the homeowner.
Robyn
is this bright white or cloud white? Would like to know.
CliqStudios Social Media
The finish is our color White.
LeeAnn Neris
can you provide an estimate of what this kitchen cost? did the owner also purchase the counter tops from CliqStudios?
CliqStudios Digital Marketing
Hi LeeAnn! The price range for this kitchen is $20,000-$26,000. The owner sourced the countertops locally, so we do not have that information for you.
Betty Topping
Very nice! Is your fridge a Dacor or Samsung? How hard was it to fit the facings? We are looking at doing the same.
CliqStudios Digital Marketing
Hi Betty! We will reach out to this homeowner to see what brand the refrigerator is. A contractor installed the door panels and the homeowner did not mention any fitting issues to us when we spoke.
Alicia Maldonado
Is beautiful .Is my dream Kitchen.