Goodbye Golden Oak
Goodbye Golden Oak from Erin Lynett
Goodbye Golden Oak

When this house was built in the 90s, honey oak was all the rage. When the homeowner saw the before picture, she couldn't believe she ever thought it was good idea to use oak everywhere! The main concern was making the kitchen look and feel bigger. She felt trapped behind the peninsula.

DESIGN SOLUTION: In order to fit an island, we had to expand the kitchen about 18" into the dining room by moving the wall with the refrigerator. Since there is another space for a table, we felt comfortable taking over the dinette space with a large island for casual eating & plenty of work space. The oak floors were refinished in a natural stain to take out the orange tones. The new cabinets are a combination of an off-white paint and maple stain to break up the monopoly that oak had in this house. Sleek new appliances include a slide-in range, barely-there hood, and convection microwave in a custom corner cabinet.

Installed by Kegonsa Remodeling & Design

After: the kitchen is lighter & brighter and ready for a party.
After: a custom corner microwave houses the microwave which is easier to access than over the range.
After: a coffee station was added next to the dining room entrance.
After: the wet bar in the family room was not left out!
Update: the fireplace in the adjacent family room would have looked out of place with the old oak mantle.
After: the powder room got an update to coordinate.
Before: the peninsula made the owners feel trapped in the kitchen & it was oak overload.
Before: the wet bar matched the kitchen.
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Goodbye Golden Oak

When this house was built in the 90s, honey oak was all the rage. When the homeowner saw the before picture, she couldn't believe she ever thought it was good idea to use oak everywhere! The main concern was making the kitchen look and feel bigger. She felt trapped behind the peninsula.

DESIGN SOLUTION: In order to fit an island, we had to expand the kitchen about 18" into the dining room by moving the wall with the refrigerator. Since there is another space for a table, we felt comfortable taking over the dinette space with a large island for casual eating & plenty of work space. The oak floors were refinished in a natural stain to take out the orange tones. The new cabinets are a combination of an off-white paint and maple stain to break up the monopoly that oak had in this house. Sleek new appliances include a slide-in range, barely-there hood, and convection microwave in a custom corner cabinet.

Installed by Kegonsa Remodeling & Design

Erin Lynett
Residential Designer Madison, WI