Synopsis: Every remodeling contractor Kristina Garrels and Scott Anderson met with wanted to gut their kitchen and start from scratch. Then they talked with Dan Meyers, who appreciated their need as parents of young children not to lose their kitchen for any amount of time. Meyers refined their initial design, evaluated their existing cabinets, and figured out how to reconfigure some of them to work in a new arrangement. He refaced them with vertical-grain Douglas-fir veneer, and then fitted old and new cabinets with fir doors and drawer fronts. During the entire job, there was never a day when the clients did not have a sink, stove, and refrigerator.

Kristina Garrels and Scott Anderson had a clear idea of what they wanted in their revamped kitchen, but they were finding it surprisingly hard to get somebody to build it. The hiccup was the cabinets. They weren’t very old. They were well built, and Kristina and Scott wanted to repurpose them with new doors and drawer fronts. But every contractor they met with wanted to gut the kitchen, throw out the cabinets, and start from scratch.

In addition to going counter to their recycling sensibility, gutting the kitchen would put it out of service. And as parents of two young children, they knew that losing the kitchen for any amount of time would be a big headache. Enter Dan Meyers.

Meyers runs a woodworking shop on the outskirts of Olympia, Wash., and he shares Kristina and Scott’s reuse approach. Meyers refined their initial design, evaluated the existing cabinets, and figured out how to reconfigure some of them to work in a new arrangement.

Problem: Inefficient use of the dining space

Solution: An island provides room for a trash/recycle bin, the microwave, utensil drawers, sit-down dining for four, and homework activities.

“aha!”moment

Keeping the kitchen functional during its makeover was imperative. To that end, not moving the sink and dishwasher solved part of the problem. Installing a new stove before decommissioning the cooktop and wall oven solved another. And coordinating subcontractors with the installation of the new sink and countertop had operation restored by dinnertime. During the entire job, there was never a day when the clients did not have a sink, stove, and refrigerator.

Problem: Dark finishes and out-of-place cabinet detailing in a Craftsman house

Solution: The existing cabinets were refaced with vertical-grain Douglas-fir veneer to match details in adjacent rooms, and new and old cabinets were fitted with fir doors and drawer fronts.

For more information and before and after photos, click the View PDF button below.