The All Important Bungalow Kitchen

As a general rule, bungalow kitchens are small.  And this one certainly isn't a big kitchen.  But we had a couple of tricks up our sleeve, to make it bigger and much more functional.

Of course it's still a galley kitchen, but there is so much more counter and cabinet space than the original design.  And the appliances are no longer lined up in a row!!!

Here's how we changed it - we incorporated a small mudroom and open porch, to add 44 square feet of living space.  Sure, it doesn't sound like much, but it made a world of difference.

That extra space provided room for a mud bench and shelving.  I LOVE bench unit!  It does a great job of combining style and function.  

A key element on the back of the bench was utilizing some 95 year old fir trim we found in the back of the closet as a 'frame' around the new fir beadboard.  See how much deeper the color is?  And if you look closely, you can see how tight the grain of the old wood is, compared to the much more open grain structure of modern fir.

Across from the mud bench, we have the refrigerator - which is a huge change!!!  Finding a spot for the refrigerator is always tricky, it takes up a lot of visual and physical space.  So to tuck it in where we originally had the porch made it work really well.

And while it's a galley kitchen, we had a little additional space for cabinetry on the opposite wall.  This provides a spot for the microwave, lots of drawers and a nice little spot to sit and have a cup of coffee (or wine, if you're like me!).

It's changed a bit, don't you think!!! 

Of course the biggest change was opening up the staircase to the dining room.  Suddenly this seems like a big inviting space and provides a great connection to the two rooms.

But the best part?  All the sunlight streams in all day long.  That makes the room extra special!

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