Family Friendly Transition | Interior Enhancement Group

stained wood kitchen with island, counter stools, range hood, pendant lights

Entertaining is a breeze in this completely renovated kitchen. All photos by Dustin Halleck Photography

Among Our Goals

After collaborating together nearly 20 years ago, this lovely couple contacted us to renovate their kitchen and great room. As empty nesters who love to entertain, their Itasca residence is home base for family gatherings, so one of our key aims was to make the kitchen, eating area and great room as entertainment-friendly as possible. To see all photos of this project, visit Family Friendly. Among our goals for the kitchen, above:

Improve traffic flow
Provide plenty of island seating
Open up the view to the pool and golf course outside
Choose easy maintenance materials
Choose the latest upgrades in cabinetry

How We Did It

To improve traffic flow, we replaced the existing tall, L-shaped island and a small prep island with one large, rectangular unit. Now they have island seating for five and plenty of cooking and serving surface. In the process, we made the island a little shorter, which opened up the view to their beautiful outdoor pool and the impeccably manicured golf course greens beyond. For the cabinetry, we chose the latest in back-friendly upgrades, including deep drawers that make it easy to see and reach heavy pots and pans, and an appliance “elevator” for their mixer to eliminate heavy lifting. Comfort and style were our key aims for the bar stools, and they check all of the boxes: Great style. Upholstered seats and backs. Arm rests and a wide foot rest. Low profile that tucks easily beneath the counter. Durability was another priority. We knew these stools would be used many times a day, so we chose high-performance fabric and framework that will stand up to heavy use.

Great room with stone fireplace, window treatment panels, sofas, chairs, TV, cocktail table, accessories

We love geometry, especially when it applies to pretty geometric patterned window treatments like these.

Existing Furniture, New Look

Because our clients loved the great room furniture we chose in the earlier update, we created a new look by reupholstering and refinishing several pieces, including the heirloom cocktail table. To that we added a new custom rug and window treatments. The geometric panels and shades introduce the right amount of pattern for the great room and the adjacent eating area to the right. They were designed to allow a lot of natural sunlight into the space as well, making it bright and cheerful during the day.

Game table with chairs, rug, wall art, home bar

How convenient! This game table in the great room is near the bar and the kitchen.

Game Tables that Multi-Task

Game tables – which multi-task as dining tables – are playing a greater role as we spend more time entertaining ourselves at home. To update the game area in this great room, we custom designed a new rug and reupholstered the chairs in two fabrics, which updates the traditional wing-back chairs. The new finish for the table gives it a completely fresh look, and the fold-down leaves can be pulled up to provide roomy dining for four. The existing bar cabinetry in this area influenced our choice of finish for the adjacent kitchen cabinets. It was important that the two finishes complement each other. Our clients are thrilled with the results, and they enjoy entertaining more than ever. Mission accomplished! To see all of our projects, visit IEG Portfolio.