Why do we love the kitchen and bath remodeling business so much? Because we can truly customize a space for our clients based on their needs and preferences within an existing area. It is super rewarding to know that we are helping people enjoy their time spent at home because of the work we do. Oh yeah… and we love the challenge! Village Home Stores has design experts on staff and a start-to-finish system to bring you through the designing and estimating phase all the way to the finish line. And we know the trusted crews to do the work in your home. The key to any successfully completed project is knowing what your goals are once you are using the space. How many cooks will be using the kitchen? How do you plan on entertaining? And there is no better person to give input as to what works and doesn’t work in an available space than someone who already lives and works in the current setup.
Custom kitchens take planning and thought. Not just for meeting all your storage needs but your appliances too. Built-in appliances can instantly give your kitchen design a high-end look. Many times they can also improve the efficiency of your prepping and cooking spaces. This kitchen remodel in Bettendorf, Iowa is a great example of built-in appliances incorporated into a custom kitchen remodel. Our designer was able to create a gas cooktop cooking zone, a double wall oven space, a cleanup zone, a coffee bar area, and a small island work surface with a microwave drawer below. There is even built-in stacked laundry by the back door. We sent our friend Chef Keys out to help these remodel customers “break in” their new KitchenAid appliances for another edition of our #keystothevillagekitchens collaboration.
A Cooktop and Range Hood Cooking Zone
If your space allows it, separating the cooktop from the oven can create two cooking zones. A built-in cooktop allows you to include pots and pans storage below the cooking surface within reach of the user at the cooktop. In this kitchen, we included a large stack of drawers beneath the cooktop and bookended it with two pull-out storage cabinets on one side (check out this popular utensil cabinet on our TikTok page). The Silestone Quartz countertops installed throughout the kitchen are a quartz design named Calacatta Gold. A matching full-height backsplash piece was installed the full length between the cooktop and the range hood above, giving a gorgeous look and an easy-to-clean surface. 600 CFMs are packed into this 3-speed range hood from KitchenAid. Quiet, powerful, and functional.
Just because you have minimum space for a cooktop zone doesn’t mean you can’t still get a 5-burner cooktop! KitchenAid makes a 30” wide 5 burner gas cooktop, and Chef Keys used every inch of it when she visited this kitchen. The center burner has a dual ring burner and an available 17K BTUs. Full-width cast iron grates make it easy to slide pans to other locations on the cooktop surface. A CookShield finish on the cooktop protects the unit from stains that may happen from high-temp cooking and is easily wiped clean even after she deep-fried polenta cakes.
Built-in Double Wall Ovens
Built-in wall ovens were among the very first coveted custom appliances available decades ago, and many Midwest kitchen designs include one or two wall ovens in their existing layout. They have seen many upgrades over the years. Wall ovens can install more flush with your cabinetry and bring the ovens and controls to a more comfortable height for you as you work in the kitchen. Available in single ovens, double, and a popular option of a combination wall oven and microwave unit. Your designer at Village will work with an appliance expert in our store to make sure the cabinetry is ordered to accommodate the specs for your model selected. Shop all our built-in wall ovens here on our website.
Wall ovens have been redesigned to offer you the very best in features and as large of a capacity as possible. Many of these KitchenAid models also now include a digital temperature probe. Learn more about how to use those in a previous article we posted. Chef Keys used this opportunity to prepare a Cajun seafood boil in the convection wall oven for our clients. Press play below to watch how she did it and find out why she includes an egg in hers:
Looks delicious, right? We love this method of using Reynold oven bags to combine raw ingredients and pre-cooked items to finish them all together with the consistent heat of a convection oven. These ovens are so large that a few more trays of bags could have been cooking with them if they were hosting friends.
We were so excited to learn about adding a hard-boiled egg to each bag, and one of the clients even announced it was one of his favorite parts! There had to be so much flavor packed into that egg. You can improvise your own bags using what you have access to. Here is a recap of what Chef Keys had inside:
- Canadian Snow Crab
- Argentinian Shrimp
- Green-Lip New Zealand Mussels
- Red and Yukon Gold Potatoes Pre-Boiled and Sliced in Half
- Pre-Boiled and Shelled Egg
- Alabama Conecuh Sausage
- Onions
- Chopped Parsley
- And a “Key Ingredient” Chef Keys’ Homemade Cajun Butter Sauce With Konriko Creole Seasoning and Paprika
Yum! The aroma from these bags of deliciousness had the whole home smell amazing. Plus, admit it, it can be fun to eat with your hands sometimes. A seafood meal with views of the Mississippi River made for the perfect way to officially wrap up their remodel project.
The most popular built-in appliance for all kitchens of any budget and size is a dishwasher. Dishwashers are truly one of the most used home appliances. The Kitchen Aid dishwasher installed in this home fits a standard 24” wide opening but boasts THREE racks to load into. It is quiet at just 44 decibels when running (normal conversation rings in around 50 decibels). After a busy day in this kitchen, we had that thing packed for cleanup.
In need of a single appliance? Perhaps you need an entire package of appliances? Our team is ready to help! And if you are in need of a complete kitchen remodel, we are your local experts. Thank you again so much to these amazing customers for trusting us with your remodel project. Village Home Stores didn’t just manage a start-to-finish kitchen remodel with laundry space we have shown here. Our Project Management team helped these homeowners remodel the kitchen, two front rooms, AND two bathrooms. Curious about our process or products? Contact us today using the webchat feature on this page or complete this short form online. Want to learn more about Chef Keys? Follow K.C. on social media and visit her website here.