Kitchens

Scoular Kitchen

Correcting the kitchen geometry, a new peninsula, taller stock cabinetry, quartzite counters, lighting and storage.

The finished kitchen — gray Shaker cabinetry, a terracotta accent wall, a quartzite-topped peninsula with leather stools, and stainless appliances under a vaulted ceiling

Location: Arizona
Project type: Kitchen renovation — spatial editing
Scope: Correcting the kitchen geometry, a new peninsula, taller stock cabinetry, quartzite counters, lighting and storage.

The challenge

The client saw a dated kitchen; the bigger opportunity was spatial. An awkward angled sink wall interrupted the connection between the kitchen and living areas and ate valuable floor space, while dated arches, ledges and plant shelves cluttered an already busy open-plan volume. The priority wasn't to replace everything — it was to spend where change would materially improve the home: simplify the architecture, correct the geometry, add storage, and create a real place to gather.

Functional requirements

Correct the kitchen geometry without unnecessary construction
Reclaim storage lost to short, underscaled cabinetry
A true gathering place inside an open plan
Spend only where it changed the room

The approach

One move did most of the heavy lifting: the peninsula. Rerouting the sink plumbing about a foot corrected the geometry without structural work, and the new peninsula opened the sightline while seating six — four along the living-room side, two at the end — without crowding circulation. It works as dining, entertaining, extra prep and an informal 'sous' area. Stock Shaker cabinetry kept costs controlled; taller uppers reclaimed storage the old cabinets left unused and brought the kitchen into proportion with the vaulted ceiling. Wood floating shelves added display and echoed the flooring used through the rest of the house. Gray cabinetry — the client's preference — is warmed by a terracotta accent wall, and leathered Taj Mahal quartzite, sourced through the client's own connection, brought one premium, forgiving surface into the renovation. The fluorescent box gave way to recessed lighting and an oversized black half-circle pendant with a gold interior.

What it became

Fresh and updated was the goal; better function was the result. The peninsula is now the natural place to eat, gather and help cook, and the simplified architecture lets the kitchen belong in the larger home. In the client's words: “The kitchen works now because it provides a place to gather and entertain without being the first thing you question when you enter the space.” One honest note — a backsplash didn't make the final scope, and that's the detail I'd have pushed harder to include.

Before / After

Before — cream raised-panel cabinets that stopped low under a vaulted ceiling, a fluorescent light box, and an angled sink wall — Before: cream cabinets that stopped low, and the angled sink wall.

Scoular Kitchen, completed — After: the completed room.

Before — the empty open-plan living and dining volume with dated arches and an angled peninsula wall — Before: an open plan broken up by dated arches and an angled wall.

Attention to detail

Sink plumbing rerouted about a foot to correct the kitchen geometry
A new peninsula seating six, doubling as prep and gathering space
A corner lazy Susan to reclaim dead storage
Dated arches, ledges and plant shelves removed

Working with Kim was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. She recently transformed my home — redoing two bathrooms, the primary bedroom, and the kitchen — and the results are nothing short of spectacular. She brought fresh ideas that captured exactly what I wanted, and her intuitive eye for detail introduced functional features I didn't even know I wanted but now can't live without. Her ability to balance stunning aesthetics with everyday practicality is unmatched. If you want a designer who listens intently and brings a vision to life, I can't recommend Kim highly enough.

J. Scoular· Two baths, primary bedroom & kitchen