Gray and White Kitchen with Red Accents

Most of the people I know have taken a vacation to Florida at one time or another. But, vacationing in Florida is much different than actual living in Florida. So, what can you expect if you live in Florida? Well, first off, there’s year-round sunshine and no matter where you live in Florida, a beautiful beach is not far away. Much of your time here will be spent outside, whether you’re socializing with friends, dining out, having a drink, grabbing a cup of coffee, attending events …it’s probably happening outside. Florida is a no state income tax—that means you’ll have extra money. All these factors are pretty awesome things to consider. Am I right?

So, in late 2020, Ohio residents Tim and Nancy said, “Let’s go! Let’s make the move to the Sunshine State.” When it came time to pick the perfect Florida home, they soon discovered Florida seemed to offer something for just about everyone. They were looking to live in a city that had big city amenities, along with a true community feel.

They found exactly what they were looking for when they found a move-in-ready manufactured home located in Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club in Port Charlotte, Florida. This fantastic resort lifestyle, 55+ manufactured community is dog friendly and has lighted tennis and pickle ball courts, a fitness room, 4 heated swimming pools, clubhouses, fishing lakes, bocce, lawn bowling, mini putt-putt, horseshoes, over 70 clubs including arts and crafts, cards, computer, bingo, wood working shop, and ceramics. There’s a bar/restaurant for dinners, music, and entertainment. “After spending a few days at Maple Leaf, we started looking forward to buying a home in the community! We knew we had found the ideal retirement lifestyle for us,” said Nancy.

Let’s get back to the lovely home Tim and Nancy snagged. Originally built in 2005, the manufactured home had been remodeled by the previous owners, however it was still a blank enough canvas for Tim and Nancy to put their own mark on it. The home came fully furnished, along with a new air conditioner, hot water heater, and roof. However, Tim and Nancy wanted to make some changes to the kitchen. The previous kitchen had white thermofoil, raised panel cabinets with pull hardware. There was gray paint on the walls, laminate countertops, and a short speckled tile backsplash. The new homeowners felt the kitchen lacked personality.

Even though they had 2 windows in the kitchen, neither one provided much light to filter across the room. They knew right away that they wanted to give up one of those windows in order to gain a pantry with rollout trays. So, they had 6 LED can lights, under cabinet, and toe kick lighting installed to help illuminate the space.

By all accounts the previous kitchen was not a “bad” kitchen, the new homeowners just wanted to make the kitchen more in line with their personalities. They wanted to keep the classic work triangle. This is the paths between the refrigerator, sink, and range. The distance should be quick, direct, and without any obstacles. These three areas are the where most of the kitchen activities usually take place. They also wanted to keep the custom built-in bar and island located at the back of the room. The existing beautiful medium gray Shaker-style cabinets provided additional storage. The granite countertops on the built-in bar and wine stem glass holders were bonus features.

To give the kitchen a fresh new look and compliment the built-in bar, they selected gray Shaker-style cabinets from Aspect Cabinetry. They replaced the laminate countertops with white quartz and added a stunning glimmer glass mosaic tile backsplash. The new gorgeous vinyl gray wood-look floor compliments all hues beautifully, making the kitchen very cohesive.

So, with some creative thinking, Just Counters’ professional team took the kitchen from outdated with insufficient lighting to modern and bright. The spunky new kitchen now perfectly suits Tim and Nancy in this new stage of their lives.

If you would like your kitchen to fill you with happiness every time you walk in, contact Just Counters & other stuff, inc.