Forever Farmhouse Galley

This Reading, MA home was beloved by our clients – they’ve lived here since the mid-90’s, raised their family in a cherished neighborhood, and hosted many gatherings with family and friends. With the kids now grown, they felt it was time to remake their kitchen into the dream space they’ve always wanted – complete with chef-worthy appliances, luxe details, and plenty of storage. We were happy to oblige.

The homeowners came to us with their vision for the new space – and a challenge mapped out on graph paper. They wanted to maximize the small footprint of this galley kitchen to the fullest extent possible by changing the way people moved into and through the room. The former space had a side door that saw a high volume of traffic flow through the middle of the kitchen space, which significantly limited how the room could be used and made it difficult to prep or cook during times when people were moving in and out of this entrance.

To improve the flow and open up space for much-needed storage and new appliances, we basically flipped the floorplan – moving the functional kitchen to where the dining area had been previously and repurposing a closet to build in space for the ovens and new cabinetry while leaving the existing window intact. This allowed for plenty of sunlight to stream into the room while also avoiding additional exterior work to move the window.

Our client enjoys cooking and so we focused on bringing in high-tech appliances to make meal prep easier and more enjoyable. In addition to a traditional oven, a steam oven was added, which uses boiling water to create heat – turning out more nutrient-dense food faster than a standard oven, preserving moisture in cooking and reheating, and making many meals just taste better. An induction cooktop was incorporated into the quartz countertop, which cooks faster and more efficiently than a traditional stovetop, is easier to clean, and is cool to the touch as it heats the pans directly rather than the glass surface.

Luxe finishes and features were incorporated throughout the kitchen and eating area to deliver an upscale experience with every detail. The base cabinets are a quarter sawn white oak, stained with a medium gray stain. The upper white cabinets were glazed with grey in a process known as combing, which gives the effect of hand-painted brush strokes up close, to balance the space and make it feel brighter. The tiling behind the cooktop is a fun mixture of embossed and flat tiles to add a subtle texture, and we added a shelf above using the same Berwyn Cambria quartz as the countertops, for easy access to spices while cooking.

In the eating area, a pantry and coffee station were added for additional storage and functionality, balanced with a grey subway tile backsplash that gives the textured appearance of a handmade tile. In the single glass-front upper cabinet, the interior finish is the same as the wood base cabinets to tie them together. Above the table, a sleek frame TV does double-duty as framed artwork when it’s not in use.

Throughout this renovation, personal touches make the space an ideal fit for our clients. The faucet was set to the right of the farm house sink on request – incorporating a semi-professional faucet allowed us the flexibility and movement to position it this way. An open mesh cabinet with pull-out baskets was incorporated for the storage of root vegetables. Our clients are now able to move easily throughout their kitchen, prepping, cooking, and entertaining with ease. Their new kitchen is a complete transformation from where they started, and was completed without significant changes to the floorplan of their home.