Client: Ridgedale Transitional

Located in the outlying suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama, this homeowner desired a renovation with a refined transitional flare. The project included a minimal shift in the fixed elements in the kitchen layout while offering maximum flow and usability for the client and her extended family. We also redefined the design of the pantry and laundry room and refreshed the powder bathroom.

The one design directive the client initially felt passionate about was a checkerboard floor. The dilemma was finding the right materials that suited her budget and tightly defined color palette. Eventually, we landed on this beautifully matte-finished porcelain tile with the perfect beige tone and soft black. Don’t miss the Behind the Design section below for more details.

The Kitchen

The Butler’s Pantry

To free up congestion in the main work zones, the client embraced the idea of a butler-style pantry for her existing walk-in pantry. The coffee station and reheating zone were moved here. A decidedly bolder green was selected, drenching the small but functional space in color. Closed storage is always imperative for executing a beautiful butler’s pantry. Being mindful of waste and budget, her original cabinets and the cabinetry in the laundry room were reworked for this space.

The Multifunctional Laundry Room

Like most homeowners today, tucking a home office into a room not always in use is a smart option. Stacking the washer and dryer allowed more cabinets to be reused and offered an airy feel for the working desk.

Working with my contractor, I designed a desk that flowed from the custom wood countertops.

The Glamorous Powder Room

The one room the client wanted to step away from her minimalistic aesthetic was the powder room. She wanted a room with drama and already owned a vintage mirror ideally suited for this glamorous design. Box molding was added, and a deep black and white palette became the perfect nod to the checkered kitchen and laundry room floors.

Behind the Design

During the initial consultation for a kitchen renovation, we discussed the client’s needs and dreams for a new and improved kitchen. The client expressed the pain points with her current kitchen beyond how it looked. The client often cooks alongside extended family on the weekends. The original layout below had overlapping work zones that made it difficult for two cooks to function without feeling like they were on top of each other in the kitchen.

While the footprint of this long kitchen could not be changed, shifting the layout of the appliances and redesigning the butler’s pantry allowed everyone in the family to have the space they needed for food prep on the more open counters, cooking zones and entertaining.

The classic checkered floors visually expanded the room, and using only two large upper cabinets created a more open and airy feel. As I alluded to initially, finding the right tile for this space was challenging. The design and execution of the project took place in 2023, long before checkerboard floors had made a resurgence in traditional design. The marketplace was overdone and nearly overrun with 12×24-inch tile. In my professional opinion, cutting a 12z24-inch tile generally gives less than desirable results.

The client and I were thrilled with the final choice and how it brought drama to her monochromatic color palette.