A Busted Open, Brightened Up Kitchen

Taking down walls cleared the way for a free-flowing space fit for two cooks, two kids, plus party guests

By Deborah Baldwin

Three Rooms Become One: After

Open up three spaces arranged like a barbell and suddenly you've got breathing room. For 10 years, Michael and Susan Assadi, serious cooks, parents of two young children, and owners of a 1924 house in Seattle, fought a skinny little kitchen that had a breakfast room stuck at one end and a dismal den at the other. The kitchen had an electric cooktop with a downdraft vent embedded in a traffic-slowing peninsula, and not enough storage or prep space.

Finally, Michael, an engineer, tapped his computer-assisted design skills to help solve the problem, deleting walls at either end and a door to the basement in the middle. Working with cabinet designer Lisa Wilson and her design-build firm Builder Showroom, the couple gutted all three rooms, added insulation, pipes, wiring, and ductwork, and reorganized the layout so that two could cook at once. The den became a dining and homework spot, and the breakfast room an airy walk-in pantry. “The island gives us extra prep space,” says Michael, “and when guests arrive we simply wheel it to one side.” Boom—room for everyone.

Shown: Opened up at each end, the kitchen has a cleanup zone on one side, prep and cooking space on the other, and an island floating at the middle.

Island: Crate & Barrel

Pendant lights: Restoration Hardware

Paint: 2028-30 Tequila Lime (walls); benjaminmoore.com

Sink: julien.ca

Refrigerator and dishwasher: kitchenaid.com

Three Odd Spaces: Before

It was a challenge for two people to cook and keep an eye on the kids.

It's a Reach

A library-ladder rail runs between two rows of upper cabinets. Twin wall ovens and a pro-style cooktop with a pot filler and a stainless-steel-tile backsplash make meal prep a breeze.

Cooktop: Wolf

Wall ovens: GE

Range hood: Vent-a-Hood

Tile: Eden Mosaic

Library ladder and rail: putnamrollingladder.com

On the Surface

A countertop beneath open shelves in the pantry, near the door, catches keys and cell phones. The library ladder slides along a rail anchored just under the top cabinets on 2×4s masked with trim pieces.

Spacious Nosh Nook

Banquette seating and built-in storage maximize space in the eating nook.

Homeowner Tip: “To keep our galley kitchen from looking like a bowling alley, we ran beadboard across the ceiling, perpendicular to the floorboards, to help the room feel wider.” — Michael Assadi, Seattle

Cabinets: Canyon Creek Cabinet Company

Butcher-block table top: johnboos.com

Banquette fabric: maxwellfabrics.com

Flat screen: sony.com

Paintings: threebirdshome.com

Beautiful from Top to Bottom

New red-oak floorboards blend in with existing flooring. The ceiling was finished with beadboard running in the opposite direction to help visually widen the long, narrow space.