The kitchen isn’t just the heart of this home remodel; it’s the feature that creates the overall impression of the house.
The Vogler’s were browsing the internet looking for design ideas for a bathroom remodel when they came across European Cabinets & Design Studios. The couple had a 1960s ranch house that needed a few updates.
“You know how it works; you want to change a faucet, and all of a sudden, you’re remodeling your whole bathroom. We loved the bathroom vanities, though at first, we weren’t planning to buy a kitchen at European Cabinets, but we came in, and we liked what we saw, and the project just grew from there,” recalled Wulf Vogler.
The original home had had several additions over the years, and the floorplan was cramped and disjointed—it needed better flow. The Vogler’s love to cook and entertain, so they wanted to open up the kitchen, raise the ceiling, and fill the room with light.
“Technically, it was a remodel, but it was really a rebuild. We stayed within the original perimeter, but even half of the floor was replaced to add in-floor heating,” said Wulf.
They worked with an architect who worked out the dimensions of the rooms, the height of the ceilings, and a new glass feature wall that opens up to the backyard patio. As for designing the interior, the Vogler’s did it all themselves—choosing finishes, vanities, countertop stone, and appliances.
From the first meeting with the architect to photographing the completed kitchen, the project took precisely a year and a half. The couple moved out during construction, which took about eight months—a rather quick turnaround given the extent of the project.
The biggest challenge was making all of the decisions, big and small, which came as a surprise to the couple who had no experience in home construction. And of course, understanding how one decision, for example, the color of a countertop, can affect every other design choice in the room.
“Many of the questions, like how to place the tiles in the bathroom, the length and height of the cutouts, I assumed the contractor would make them. I had never thought about that,” recalled Wulf. “We did enjoy it, though. Otherwise, I don’t think we wouldn’t have spent so much time on it. It really is a lot of work, hundreds of hours.”
The kitchen, dining room, living room, inside/outside fireplace, and even the patio now come together as a single seamless space—perfect for entertaining as well as relaxing together as a family.
They chose cabinets from Aran Cucine’s Bijou collection in Gefilte matte glass, with upper wall cabinets in white matte glass. The massive island, with a white granite countertop fabricated by Bay StoneWorks, features large drawers with Blum Intivo custom interiors on the working side, and Stop Sol glass cabinets with an aluminum frame on the front of the island. A bronze glass tile backsplash and bronze lamps over the island add color and texture to the otherwise black and white kitchen. Appliances from Miele and a sink by TopZero complete the project.
“I did all of the ordering, and many of the products came from Europe, but everything came in a reasonable and timely manner,” said Wulf.
For the master bath, they chose an expansive vanity from the BMT Bagni Fly collection, provided by European Cabinets.
“If we had to do it again, I would probably still do it myself, although I might get a bit of help with some of the standard design questions. If I had to do something different, I wouldn’t remodel, I would tear the house down and build a new house. But we enjoyed the process, putting together the design, and having good people to do quality work,” said Wulf.
We asked him what people compliment the most when they walk in the door of his brand-new home. “It’s not any one thing; it’s the whole overall impression that stands out.”
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