Being a top Contractor Manager on the North Shore of Long Island I was recruited to assist a Brooklynite.
A relative wanted to redo her Brooklyn apartment and decided to ask me to help layout the space and check out different materials to make it look bigger
One of the biggest challenges of living in a tiny apartment is having a tiny kitchen, Sarah wanted to create her dream kitchen from what was originally a less than dreamy space. Although square footage was limited, lots of smart ideas resulted in a kitchen that's colorful, beautiful, and has the functionality of a kitchen many times its size.
The apartment's original kitchen had a smallish refrigerator, a tiny stove, and not much storage space at all. The upper cabinets stopped a few feet below the ceiling, and an earlier attempt at open shelving gave the kitchen a distinctly unfinished look. Unsure of which direction to go, Kelly turned to North Shore Contractor Management and wehelped her to create a much brighter, more functional kitchen, all within the confines of her small space.
NSCM and Sarah made the decision to take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling, which makes for extra storage and gives the kitchen a more finished look. The middle cabinet, with its glass doors, provides a little space to display treasured items (she travels a lot and is a fencing coach) while still leaving plenty of cabinet space for tucking things away.
Together we identified the bar top as another place where the kitchen could grow. Previously it was just a wall topped with a counter, but post-renovation it has a whole bank of cabinets underneath, including a host of drawers. (The previous kitchen, you'll notice, had only a single sad drawer.) Widening the bar also allows for a little extra counter space. The butcherblock top provides a beautiful contrast to the marble counters in the rest of the kitchen, and adds a bit of warmth. It came out beautiful and multi use functional.
As part of the renovation, the refrigerator was moved to an opposite wall, which freed up even more counter space and also a spot for a dishwasher (a real luxury in a New York apartment). A new wall of full-height cabinets surrounding the fridge provides even more storage.
As for finishes, the old, worn cabinets have been replaced with new IKEA ones — dove grey on the bottom and white on top - this was a simple area to save money without giving up that sheak look. The dark tiles in the kitchen were replaced with patterned white tiles, which help to brighten up the space and makes the space look bigger, and the hand-glazed ceramic tiles on the backsplash add a beautiful touch of color to the kitchen
Super Proud of this renovation and working with Sarah was a great. So when you LONG ISLANDERS want to finish your basement or make an apartment, don't think that small spaces can't be transformed into functional and beautiful mini homes.