At some point or another in a traveling golfer’s life, almost all roads lead to Florida. In frigid winters, even Arizona and Southern California can have their chilly spells, but the Sunshine State, especially South Florida, can be relied upon to provide pleasant weather when snowbound enthusiasts need relief the most. There are so many other reasons to live in Florida besides the plethora of golf courses to enjoy — warm weather, no state income taxes, and a reasonably low cost of living. Gary and Kathy, who were originally from Maine, were looking for a great place to retire and always dreamed of golfing in paradise. As Florida is a big state, they actually lived in several different cities before they established a permanent home in Punta Gorda.
Our recent clients are both avid golfers. They found a perfect condominium located on the 7th hole of Deep Creek Golf Club. The primary appeal of living near a golf course is the view from your own backyard: gently rolling greens, clusters of mature trees, ponds, lakes, and fountains, as well as an occasional wildlife sighting such as blue herons, egrets, gators, and turtles.
I met Gary and Kathy after they had some unfortunate water damage due to a leak. Aside from the water damage, the kitchen wasn’t in terrible shape, but the clients knew it was time to refresh the look and also make some modifications to improve functionality. Luckily, the size and layout were great, so not much needed to be done structurally to the existing footprint.
During the in-home consultation I discovered behind the bi-folding closet doors was a washer and dryer, not a closet pantry. More storage was on Kathy’s must-have list. The small kitchen had a refrigerator and an upright freezer. Gary is a huge fan of venison. The homeowners planned to keep the existing flooring, which were in great shape. So, we talked about replacing the dated cabinets. Melamine cabinets with oak trim were a popular style back in the 1980s. We discussed replacing them with Aspect Cabinetry in a classic shaker design with an authentic woodgrain color of stain to blend with the floor tiles. The busy golfers wanted completely maintenance-free countertops. Wilsonart HD laminate countertops would be the perfect fit because it is impressively resistant to stains. The homeowners would only need to simply wash with soap and water. This means less time needed to be spent in the kitchen, and, of course, more time on the golf course.
With the client’s desires in mind, I went straight to work. I drew up floorplans with 3D renderings to showcase my ideas for the renovated kitchen and to ensure I was on the same page as our clients regarding to the finished product. A lazy Susan, a convenient two-level turn table, would replace the awkward blind corner cabinet. A three-drawer base cabinet to the left of the dishwasher would be an ideal place for hand towels and dishcloths. The practical and convenient narrow, full-height base cabinet to the left of the range would store baking sheets. The right side of the range would contain a drawer stack with one shallow drawer and two deep drawers that would provide plenty of storage space for pots and pans.
On the opposite side of the kitchen, a tall deep pantry with 4 roll-out trays would replace the shallow-depth pantry and baker’s rack. Another three-drawer base cabinet and a concealed double wastebasket would be installed next to the pantry. This would be a great way to provide more storage and keep our clients’ kitchen waste and/or recycling tucked away, yet easy to access.
On the day I photographed the “after” pictures, Gary and Kathy were waiting for the completion of the ceiling makeover. If you’ve ever spent time in an office, a kitchen, or any other room with a standard dropdown or recessed ceiling with Plexiglas, you are probably familiar with certain drawbacks of fluorescent tube fixtures. I am pretty sure a sizeable percentage of houses built in the late 80s and early 90s have a large fluorescent fixture in the kitchen. Back then, they were considered the most efficient way of throwing large amounts of light. Gary and Kathy constantly dealt with yellowed panels, flickering tubes, and humming ballasts. The good news is, that now in the 21st century, there are even more efficient lighting options available. The day I photographed they already had removed the yellowed diffuser panels and metal frame. They were left with three sets of large tubular lights—which they plan to replace with two pendant light fixtures. The existing pendant light in front of the new pantry will also be replaced. Luckily, because Gary and Kathy live in the first floor of a two-story condominium, there is now a better alternative to recessed can lights. What many people are now using in their homes instead of recessed can lights is a light fixture called a disc light. The disc light is a very thin LED light, typically about an inch tall, that is mounted to the surface of the ceiling. With any luck their kitchen will be completely finished very soon.
Kudos to our talented installation team: Tommy McCaffrey and Aaron Shaffer. Both installers are top-notch. They did an excellent job installing the cabinets, countertops, trim work, backsplash, and fixing problems they encountered during the installation. Gary said, “I can’t say enough about how kind and pleasant the installers were. They did an excellent job. They cleaned up after themselves and were very professional.”
See you next week!
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