The kitchen was the first priority in an extensive rebuild of a 1950s ranch house in Pasadena, California. The location of the home was perfect, but the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home needed a big overhaul to accommodate a growing family of six (including one on the way), plus a puppy and two cats.
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“At the time of move-in, the kitchen lacked important storage, with (oddly) no upper cabinets or shelves, and even more wall space lost to poorly placed doors and windows,” explains Alice Chen of Shialice Spatial Design. “It was closed off with a partial wall behind which the washer/dryer was awkwardly shoved, eating up valuable square footage. The wife and kids spent a lot of quality time baking together, so a functional and enjoyable kitchen was high priority.”
Additionally, the house looked super outdated—the cabinets were a light yellow birch color that had a ‘80s and ‘90s look and the backsplash was old.
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The clients had worked with Alice before, so the whole design process was seamless. Alice knew the clients wanted color and storage, so she proposed a blue and oxblood scheme that are nods to the bright colorful kitchens that were popular when the house was built in the ‘50s, but are still slightly subdued for modern living and the family’s needs.
Alice and team had to hit the ground running with the kitchen makeover since everything needed to be completed before baby number four was born. They removed the awkward peninsula and partial wall. The washer/dryer that used to sit behind the partial wall was relocated near the home’s bedrooms.
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“By repositioning key windows and doors, additional wall space was reclaimed making room for floor-to-ceiling cabinetry that doubled the family’s storage and offered a much more luxurious and spacious floor plan,” Alice says.
While the existing sliding doors had a moment back in the ‘50s when the kitchen was built, Alice and team wanted to update them. They elevated the feature by adding large stacking doors, which opened up the dining area to the yard with hillside views.
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Along with the blue and oxblood color scheme, Alice installed mixed metal finishes, like chrome and unlacquered brass—which added subtle dimension. The chrome is a nod to its popularity in the ‘50s and the client’s beloved chrome saxophone.
The whole project was finished just in time—the baby arrived at the tail end of the project. “Verbal praise aside, I was happy to hear them reporting back on all the baking and entertaining that’s been going on in the new space,” Alice explains. “We’re excited to keep moving and further personalize this house for them in our phase 2 expansion.”
