We say it online, we say it every week on our TV show, and we will say it to your face in the showroom and our booth at the home show:  you don’t have to gut your whole kitchen to get a new kitchen. Seriously. It is so true! Making just a few smart remodel investments can still give you a better look and even a more functional layout without a complete demo of the space. This Geneseo, Illinois kitchen is a fantastic example of transforming a space using the original cabinetry.
A Partial Kitchen Remodel Keeping Your Existing Cabinets
One disclaimer we will add before we dive into the before and after of this space is to have an honest chat with yourself about your existing cabinets. Does your current layout work for your household’s needs? Making partial remodel investments for your kitchen means you are committing to that same layout for the next few chapters of this kitchen’s story. Take a look at the construction and condition of your existing cabinets. If they are still performing for you and have the potential to “vibe” with your new design, you may be able to extend their stay and save a lot of money by doing so. In this region, we have often found the cabinetry that is original to homes built in the '50s and '60s was built very solid. Solid ends, sturdy shelving, and wooden doors that can handle re-staining or painting. The kitchen cabinets in this partial remodel story are proof of that. They are still in excellent shape.
Add Undercabinet Lighting
We will start with the least obvious update first. Your kitchen lighting. If you are considering a partial kitchen remodel NOTHING will change your existing cabinet layout quite like adding undercabinet lighting to the space. In complete kitchen remodels undercabinet lighting is always listed among a customer’s favorite parts of the new kitchen. Use this opportunity to give your existing kitchen a modern update that you will use day and night.
As you can see in the image above, our Alloy PrimaLine LED light tape is extremely low-profile. It creates a consistent wash of light on the surfaces below and can be installed with a dimmer. The installation of this lighting system is no different than if we were replacing the cabinets. We route out a channel underneath the front faces of the cabinet boxes so that a track and the tape lighting can travel each length of the kitchen layout. This undercabinet lighting system is ideal for task lighting, and it is low voltage, so it can be left on as ambient lighting or a night light when needed with little energy used. You will not regret budgeting for undercabinet lighting with your partial remodel.
Upgrade Your Appliances (Even If They Are Built-ins)
A new KitchenAid appliance suite has been installed into the existing cabinetry in a Black Stainless Steel finish with a fingerprint-resistant PrintShield coating. All the appliances have been updated and upgraded, bringing this large U-shaped kitchen into a new era of meal prep. Don’t forget we are a kitchen design center AND an appliance dealer. That means you can have an appliance expert visit and measure your space to make sure we are ordering the right products for the project.
Village Home Stores is so lucky to get to work on so many unique kitchens in the area. A common element in many kitchens from this time is a small wall oven. Wall ovens, multi-cooking ovens, and built-in microwave ovens were the ultimate home appliance when they were introduced. Many times, wall ovens were built into a tall cabinet or also commonly recessed into a brick wall in the space. In this home, we were able to install a new wall oven and a countertop microwave with a trim kit and only some slight modifications to the cabinet openings. Oh, how I wish I had taken these before and after photos with the ovens open. The updated wall oven is so much larger inside!
This homeowner has lived decades hosting large meals with only a small oven to work with. She is so excited to get to use the new larger oven. Many of the older wall oven units we remove can’t even fit a standard cookie sheet or roasting pan inside. This new wall oven boasts 5.0 cu ft of interior capacity, and it is a true convection model, so all racks can be used at once for a consistent temperature. It also comes with a very popular accessory: an oven temperature probe. Watch this popular video on our YouTube channel to see how to use the temperature probe. If you look at the microwave (top) unit in the new setup, you will see a frame/trim kit surrounding it. These kits come in a variety of styles and help to create a built-in appliance look while using a “countertop” microwave model. This microwave and trim kit pair can be a great solution for existing openings that do not sync up with new appliances sizes.
The new refrigerator is a 24.8 cu. ft. KitchenAid side-by-side model that is a full-depth unit with LED lighting and a redesigned exterior water and ice dispenser. The measured water fill dispenser automatically dispenses water using programmed options to start and stop to a poured measured amount. You can even set custom presets to program for frequently filled items (your coffeepot or favorite water bottle).
The new gas cooktop is a 36” wide model that has 5 burners and the most powerful dual burner in the industry (20K BTU). If you are a serious home chef, this versatile cooktop will become your favorite place to craft up meals. In contrast to the powerful dual burner, you also have a precise simmer burner for simmering and melting items at a lower heat. Full-width cast-iron grates make it easy to move pots and pans from one location to another as you work.
New Hood, Who Dis?
With all that power on the cooktop below… comes great responsibility for the vent hood above it. We built a custom wood range hood for the updated space and installed a Stainless Steel Broan Power Pack inside it. What a stunning new hood that looks right at home with the existing cabinets.
Shout out to two other small businesses who helped make this kitchen look great. Dusty Smith with WoodSmith QC built us a custom wood hood and then passed along the baton to Flawless Finishing of the Quad Cities to custom match the stain on the existing cabinetry.
Kitchen Surfaces Refresh
While the cabinetry stayed in place, we refreshed just about every other surface in the kitchen. New flooring was installed from our Engineered Floors line. This is a luxury vinyl plank flooring series named Triumph and the color is “Rio”. We installed it in the kitchen, hallway, and nearby powder room.
The new kitchen countertops give the look and feel of a marble in a durable engineered quartz surface. “Lumataj” quartz countertops from our MSI Q Quartz line give a luxurious look and a high-performance worksurface. The quartz counters are paired with a new kitchen backsplash tile. 3” x 12” Anotolia Marlow tiles are installed in the “Mist” color and a staggered brick lay pattern. One of our most popular partial kitchen remodel scenarios is a “tops and tile refresh.” You can work with one of our designers to help select new counters and a complimenting wall tile, and we can arrange and schedule all the work for you. These large areas of surface in your kitchen can totally change the look of a kitchen and reflect your own personal style. Stop by our showroom to browse all the tops and tile options available at Village.
Make an Appointment to Discuss Your Partial Remodel
Ready to start the process of pricing your own partial remodel with us? Even though we are known as a cabinetry showroom, we promise we will NOT be offended if you plan to keep your existing cabinetry in place. Your first step in gathering an estimate is to set up an appointment in our showroom to discuss your thoughts and budget. At Village Home Stores, we can show you examples of products, images from past projects, and begin selecting possible materials to work on a project estimate for you before we visit your space. Appointments are recommended so that you can be sure we have a designer available to discuss your project. Snap a few photos of your current setup so we can have some reference to the kitchen when we begin in the store. Reach out to us using the webchat in the corner of this page, fill out this form, or call us at 309-944-1344. We can’t wait to help you make the most of your time spent at home.