Southwood Kitchen Remodel

Southwood Kitchen Video

Southwood Kitchen

Summary

This couple originally contacted us to look at their kitchen, master bath and converting a utility room into a guest bedroom. Trying to do all those project at once was a bit much so we decided to focus on the kitchen first and return to the other projects in the future.

Main Issues With Current Space

The main issue for them was the color and ligthing. The kitchen was very dark and overbearing and the lighting was poor. There were also some layout issues. The island was placed too close to the other countertops and the corner cabinets next to the fridge were just a place where clutter collected. They liked to entertain but felt the kitchen was not open enough for guest to enjoy.

Project Goals

Their main goals were to update the look of the kitchen a create a brighter space and a more open feel without losing storage or counterspace.

Southwood Kitchen

Before Floorplan Vs After Floorplan

After: An island with more storage and spaced appropriately. Fewer cabinets open up the space but adding tall cabinets creates more storage. Seating at the peninsula makes more sense. 

Challenges And Solutions

This Southwood kitchen project had a few issues that delayed its completion. Fortunately all were resolved and the clients were very understanding of the delays.

• • Issue 1: Countertops. We were not able to use our ‘go to’ installer on this project because of the material the client selected. We used another installer we had worked with in the past but only a few times. The countertops had a number of issues. The sink was cut out wrong in the island so that top had to be replaced. And there were some scratches from fabrication in the bar top that meant it had to be replaced as well. The countertop company took care of this but it did add time to the project.
  • Issue 2: Matching the Flooring. Part of the scope of work for the project was to patch the brazillian cherry flooring in the kitchen. This proved to be much more difficult than expected as the material was not longer available so we had to order planks and fabricate them to match.  Also, because brazillian cherry darkens over time the new material did not match. However we were able to “age” it by leaving it out in the sun for a few days. It took a lot more time than expected but the final resutl looks great and now you can’t tell where the patches were made.

Timeline

• Proposed project start date: Jan 21, 2023

•  Actual Project Start Date:  Jan 21, 2023

• Proposed Completion Date: April 15th, 2023 

• Actual Completion Date: May 18th, 2023

Southwood Kitchen Project Costs

Initial Estimate: At the end our initial design and budget consult the cost for this project was estimated at $92,432

Fixed price proposal: At the end of the design process the final fixed price proposal we presented was for $109,342, about 18% more than the original budget.

The significant increase came mostly from changes to their material selections in design.

Reasons for increase/Decrease:

• • They chose a much more expensive countertop material and decided to go with a matching stone backsplash instead of a tile backsplash
  • They upgraded to our “best” cabinet line when we had budgeted for the “better” cabinet line in design.
  • Labor costs increased because they decided to widen the opening between the kitchen and living room which required some structural work and floor patching.

Change Orders

There were two change orders on the project. One for adding additional lighitng and one for extra flooring, they decided to order some extra boxes since the material proved difficult to find. Change order total came to around $1500. 

Southwood Kitchen Video 2

Southwood Kitchen 

Materials and Fixtures Used in This Project

• Other Fixtures and Accessories
  • Workstaition sinks by Ruvati in peninsula and island
  • Rohl Patrizia Kithcen Faucet in Polished Nickel
  • Rohl Patrizia Bar Faucet in island
  • Rohl Italian Country Pot filler
  • Farmouse glass linear chandelier in brass from Pottery Barn
  • GE Cafe Appliances

Before Photos

Final Project Photos