Before and After: Kitchen
Design for a Senior Citizen couple to age-in-place
Sometimes, we are asked to perform minor miracles...
An elderly couple (both 80+) purchased this home over 50 years ago and raised a wonderful family here. Now they are empty-nesters as each of their children have moved away to start their own families, but it became necessary for some serious kitchen upgrades as the home has gone largely untouched for half a century.
We found the linoleum floor to be peeling and unsafe, the wallpaper was coming off the walls, the appliances were outdated and not working properly, and the light fixtures too harsh to provide decent light. The bathroom was outdated and needed serious help.
Two solid weeks of demolition took most of the items away, and much of the "clutter" was donated to charity or discarded.
We decided to keep most of the kitchen cabinets in place, as they were in decent working order. We upgraded the electric to allow for more outlets and fixtures, put in a new floor that would allow better mobility, put in new quartz counters which lightened up the space and provided a better work surface, and replaced the appliances with new models.
As far as the cabinets, we replaced all of the old hardware and painted the insides and outsides. We added plenty of pull-outs for easy access to pots and pans.
Gallons of plaster were used on the walls, and we painted the space a new bright color. Wallpaper was chosen for the breakfast area to give a little pattern to the walls.
In the bathroom, we added a new vanity and toilet (both at comfort-height) and new green wallpaper - a favorite color of the couple. Grab bars were strategically placed, and disguised as towel bars - so they looked far more upscale.
Nobody can believe that this is the same space, and the couple and their family are now able to get together more often and with more comfort and enjoyment. We have achieved the goal of providing a much better quality of home life to a truly lovely couple.