Buying a home is no small feat, but decorating, refurbishing and turning it into a space to call home can be an even more difficult undertaking. Oftentimes, it’s hard to figure out where to start. This was a problem that Woodway resident Jean Fallas was struggling with. After nine years in her home, she wanted to update her kitchen, but didn’t exactly know how, so she used Palmer Davis Design to create the contemporary kitchen of her dreams.
“I wanted a company that could help with the design work as well as handle all the contractors,” Fallas said. “They would deal with the painters and the electricians, the sheetrock guys and contractors. It actually was very nice because we didn’t have to have all the headache of dealing with that aspect of it. We dealt with them, and they dealt with the day-to-day people.”
The five month remodeling process was built around two main things that Fallas wanted to include in her new kitchen — updated appliances to help the functionality of the room itself, and a kitchen island to open up the area and add seating space.
“We had to wait for our appliances to come in. We found those first, and kind of designed the kitchen around them as well as with the big island in mind,” Fallas said.
As far as aesthetics and vision, she left a majority of the detailing up to the expertise of the design team.
“In the beginning, we just wanted to redo the kitchen so we used Palmer Davis hoping that they could give us some decorating tips,” she said. “But they really helped us with the design aspect and pushed us out of our comfort zone.”
The updated space is now modern and contemporary. Previously, the kitchen was almost made up entirely of wood, from the wall cabinets to the floor. With patterned curtains and tungsten lighting, it felt extremely outdated. With a little push, Fallas’ new kitchen contrasts its previous design and is all clean minimalism.
The color scheme of white, gray and black keeps the space neutral with wooden cabinets now only accenting the space rather than defining it. The dark pecan base and wall cabinets throughout the kitchen were replaced with white, with a gray accent that brings out the black marble countertops and backsplash. With the darker countertops and island, the wooden floor was replaced with a light granite tile to lighten the room.
A touch of art deco in the backsplash adds character to the kitchen. By using it sparingly, it doesn’t overwhelm the otherwise clean aesthetic. The old appliances were replaced with new ones from Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. The tungsten bulbs throughout the kitchen were switched with LED ones, and additional light fixtures were added to help brighten up the space.
Fallas, like many others, feels that a kitchen is the heart of any home, and cherishes it as such. She’s excited to fully experience her new space with her loved ones.
“We spend a lot of time in the kitchen — a lot of family time. We like to host parties and gather around in there, and now we’re going to have a lot more space for people to sit and gather and talk while we prepare food.”
