Contemporary Renton Kitchen & Family Room Remodel | Neil Kelly
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Remodeled Renton kitchen with a quartz-topped island, charcoal shaker cabinetry, and a glossy navy tile backsplash behind the cooktop.Wide view across the island toward the dining room doorway, with the navy tile range wall at center.Working run of the kitchen with an induction cooktop under a stainless chimney hood and a farmhouse sink at the window.Kitchen island seating beneath a globe chandelier, with stainless double wall ovens and glass-front upper cabinets beyond.The island looking through to the living room built-ins and fireplace, showing the open plan.

Contemporary Renton Kitchen and Family Room Remodel

Summerwind, Renton, WA

Project Overview

A cramped, awkwardly configured, and partially usable space became a wide-open contemporary kitchen and family room designed for the way this young family actually lives. Designer Anne Bauer reimagined the kitchen layout entirely, squared out the space, and added a large central island that now anchors everything from weeknight dinners and homework to weekend entertaining.

The Team

Key Facts

Scope Level
Reimagine
Service
Kitchen Remodeling
Size
800 sq ft
Location
Summerwind, Renton, WA

The Challenge

The kitchen in this Renton home had an interior corner that made creating an efficient layout nearly impossible. Ducting ran through the space in ways that dictated where everything had to go rather than where it should go. The adjacent family room was a separate, disconnected space, and the overall footprint didn’t support the open, family-centered kitchen our clients needed.

Permitting added an unexpected layer of complexity. The inspector required a full Structural Testing and Field Inspection due to a facade wall built in front of the fireplace to house wiring for a new TV location. That requirement extended the timeline significantly and required careful coordination to keep the project moving.

The kitchen before remodeling, with honey oak raised-panel cabinets, laminate counters, and a white side-by-side refrigerator.
Stainless double wall ovens beside glass-front upper cabinets and a paneled coffee station.Detail of the glossy navy picket tile backsplash with its beveled recessed face.

The Solution

The kitchen was reconfigured from the ground up. Relocating the ducting to a framed corner wall freed the layout to open up in a way the original configuration never allowed. With that constraint resolved, the kitchen expanded into a true open plan with a large island at its center, creating sightlines and circulation that connect directly to the family room.

The family room was added to the project scope partway through, allowing the full living area to be completed under one vision rather than left as a future phase. The result is a cohesive space where the kitchen, island, and family room read as a single room rather than adjacent spaces.

The finishes were chosen with durability as a non-negotiable. This is an active household with young children, and every surface selection had to hold up to daily life. The porcelain tile floors, in particular, proved their worth almost immediately — on day one, the family’s young son threw pasta on the new floor, and it cleaned up without a second thought.

  • Removed an awkward interior kitchen corner and relocated HVAC ducting to create a squared-out, fully open layout
  • Added a large central island that serves the whole family for cooking, homework, and casual entertaining
  • Extended the project scope to include the adjacent family room, completing the entire open-plan living area under one cohesive design
  • Selected durable porcelain tile flooring throughout the kitchen and pantry, built to handle the wear of an active young family
  • Specified a two-tone cabinet scheme with lighter uppers and deep-toned lower and tower cabinets, adding visual depth to a large open space
  • Incorporated a beverage fridge into the island, keeping the main refrigerator clear and adding a dedicated entertaining function
  • Resolved a complex permitting challenge requiring a full Structural Testing and Field Inspection, keeping the project moving through an unexpected delay
The island looking through to the living room built-ins and fireplace, showing the open plan.
Gray composite farmhouse apron sink set into white quartz with dramatic gray veining. Styled built-in shelving with books and family photographs.
The end result is amazing!! Our whole space is so transformed and we couldn’t be any happier! Everyone was so kind and helpful [and] they were amazing about cleaning up every day!
Jamie & Steven Summerwind, Renton, WA
Stainless chimney hood centered on the glossy navy picket tile behind the cooktop.

Materials & Features

Every material was selected for longevity, beauty, and fit with the home — here is what was used and why.

  1. 01

    Cabinets

    Decor Cabinetry — Talora collection, frameless construction, shaker door style in maple, uppers painted "Diamond Frost," lowers in "Bonfire Smoke"

  2. 02

    Countertops

    Cambria — 3cm "Inverness Cobalt" quartz

  3. 03

    Backsplash

    Equipe / Artistic Tile — glossy 2.5×10 ceramic in "Gypsum White" accented by 4×15.75 ceramic tile in "Denim Blue" behind the cooktop

  4. 04

    Kitchen Flooring

    Crossville — Moonstruck 12×24 porcelain in "Luna," unpolished

  5. 05

    Kitchen Sink

    Blanco — Ikon Silgranit 33" undermount sink in Volcano Grey

  6. 06

    Kitchen Faucet

    Delta — Essa pull-down with touch activation in "Arctic Stainless"

  7. 07

    Appliances

    Bosch — Full package including induction cooktop, wall oven, refrigerator and dishwasher in stainless steel

Working run of the kitchen with an induction cooktop under a stainless chimney hood and a farmhouse sink at the window.

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