Sneak Peek: Robbins Ranch Pt. 2
Oh boy are you in for a treat today. At the beginning of this year we kicked off part two of our Robbins Ranch project remodel - focusing in on the kitchen and the surrounding dining areas. We had the pleasure of working on the main living room, updating floors throughout, the kids bath, and the master bath last year so you may be familiar with this beaut of a house - originally built by the clients family, this Spanish-style home had some real good bones we had to pay homage too. The intention with this project has always been to mix Spanish elements with modern materials and fixtures, but overall keeping the design classic, simple, and a bit traditional. Today on the blog we’re taking you on a ride through our process and where we’re at today as we get closer to the finish line.
Top Left: Design by Amber Interiors // Top Right: Design by Kelsey Leigh Design Co. // Bottom Left & Right: Designs by Jake Arnold
Mixed metals, dark, moody cabinets, and natural elements - oh my! We love a dark, moody kitchen and the way in which this deep, muted green hue brings in warmth through color in such a subtle way. We already had our flooring picked out from the first phase of the remodel last year - so we brought that into the kitchen and surrounding dining rooms and toyed around with different ways of mixing cabinet materials. As much as I love keeping to one metal with fixtures, I love the interest added in mixing metals just as much. For dining furnishings, we wanted the formal dining to be elegant yet cozy and kid friendly, and really tie in the surrounding spaces - the formal dining sits smack dab in the middle of the new living room and the new kitchen layout, which we’ll jump to next.
Next up, the floor plan! We ran through many iterations of kitchen space plans as we had a lot of room to play around. You’ll see the space previously had one GIANT ass pantry (excuse my french, but it was huge) and totally blocked off the flow into the formal dining, and then in the formal dining you could see through to the main living (off to the left/ not shown in this plan). Not the best traffic flow, or visibility from room to room - so we completely opened up and connected these spaces. We relocated the pantry and made it smaller which allowed us to add a new built-in buffet area in the formal dining up against that new wall. With that pantry moved, it completely freed up the opposite kitchen wall which allowed us to create a bar area, and one long span of usable kitchen - where the range, wall oven, super-sweet coffee station, built-in micro, and a second prep sink are housed. The main sink/ plumbing remained where it was as it was already stationed in the best place - in front of a window with one beautiful view. And as for that dining nook off to the right - it was practically screaming at me for a cozy built-in bench. Ask and you shall receive.
Dark, moody teal cabinets, a white-oak tongue and groove island, and a whole lot of marble. Need I say more? We went with brass plumbing fixtures and lighting, and aged brass for the cabinet hardware throughout the kitchen and bar area, and kept it simple as the cabinet color was really all the show-stopping needed. We used the same marble for both the countertops and backsplash, and had a beautiful, custom Spanish-style tile made for the bar area from North County Tile & Stone. Any floating shelves were also done in a white oak to tie in with the island.
At last, a peek into the formal dining room! Being in the middle of the main living room and the newly opened-up kitchen we really wanted to connect design of these spaces. We brought in the same kitchen materials for this built-in buffet storage, and tied in dark metal light fixtures to switch it up from the kitchen white also starting to play off what’s going on in the main living room. For the dining table we went dark to have a stark contrast against the lighter floors, and paired it with oak Windsor chairs and a vintage rug.
Last but not least, some progress photos! We can’t wait to share more with you, we can’t wait for our clients to enjoy this beautiful new heart of their home, and we can’t wait to have a photoshoot in the coming months. Be on the lookout this year for the final product!