When we bought Skyhaven, the kitchen had high end appliances and beautiful custom cabinetry. Unfortunately, it had very dated countertops, sinks, faucets, lighting, and unfortunate doors on the cabinets. We lived with the kitchen for a couple of years waiting on the right time to renovate. This spring, the vent hood in the middle of the kitchen stopped working. It was time to renovate.

Prior the renovation, we’d removed the rounded edges of the island and the glass doors on the shelves, but that was it.

We decided to keep most of the perimeter cabinets, the Thermador ovens, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and Viking cooktop as all worked well. We removed the island, countertops, wall cabinets, and backsplash. The Gaggenau dishwasher was replaced with Fisher & Paykel drawers. There was no microwave, so a Sharp microwave drawer was installed in the island. The double bowl sink was replaced with a 38” single bowl sink.

The island was repurposed in the laundry room as base cabinets against a wall. The wall cabinets were rehung over the washer and dryer. Only one piece of cabinetry that sat under the cooktop was tossed out. The new island is 9'‘ long vs 6’ for the old. The quartz countertops have a waterfall edge for a modern appearance. The pointed and beveled edge on the countertops mirrors the angle and bevel on the original bar now housed in the living room.

We updated the vent with a flush-mount system that fits into the ceiling. This was the biggest headache as a downdraft was purchased initially (and was not able to be installed). Installing the flush-mount vent was very difficult and a new vent hole had to be added in the roof.

The new backsplash tile is from Daltile and has a vintage feel. It matched the walls in theory, but after being installed, the walls had to be repainted a shade darker. The open shelving on top of the tile have the same finish as the kitchen island.