Assisted AFTER

Timeless Assisted Living Facility Kitchen

Before After

One of the last projects I designed shortly before my retirement was GrandCare Assisted Living Facility located in Port Charlotte, Florida. This is an assisted old-age home where adults 65 and older come to live for reasons as varied and plentiful as their daily pills.  

What is assisted living? Well, the definition of assisted living can mean many things in the housing world. The concept of assisted living is simply that: older adults move to a facility where they can receive assistance with the daily tasks of living. These tasks, known as activities of daily living, may include: personal hygiene, such as bathing, grooming and dressing, moving and getting around, eating, and toileting.

Let’s stop here just for a second. According to the internet, the average person will have 12 jobs during their lifetime. You may not recognize the name Pam Monnier but she has completely changed career fields many times. However, Pam wanted to own an assisted living facility that would be famous for loving and attending care, providing home cooked food of consistent quality, and offer array of social and recreational activities for the residents. At 57 years old, Pam did just that.

Before After

In 2021, this fearless woman followed her passion when she had an opportunity to purchase Chelsea Place Assisted Living Facility. Pam renamed the 14-bed community after she became the new owner.

Heroism isn’t always about glory, fame, or acts of valor. It can be about helping, healing, and loving. I admire Pam Monnier’s strength and I’m in awe of how she overcame obstacles to be where she is right now. She worked hard to bring purpose to her life, and she lives out her purpose every single day. That is a hero, in my book.

Our client, Pam Monnier, came to Just Counters & other stuff with the hope of brightening the commercial kitchen. Along with giving it a fresh look, she also wanted to make it more chef-friendly so that the kitchen could be easily navigated.

Before After

The former space lacked organization and had an inefficient layout. There was an exterior door which was never used, various refrigerators and freezers located on 3 different sides of the room, and unproductive storage. Pam knew it was important to have a well-designed, modern kitchen that made sense for this facility. The chefs cook every single day, so the kitchen needed to be highly functional as they spend so much time creating meals in this space.

However, this project provided unique challenges. For starters, when Pam purchased this business, there were several other considerable repairs needed to be made to the facility. So, the new kitchen couldn’t drain the budget. And because residents were living on the site, all the kitchen renovations had to be completed from start to finish as quickly as possible.  Assisted living facilities are 24-hour-a-day functional facilities. There’s no “time off.” This particular renovation would be affecting the lives of 14, as well as staff.

Everything in the previous kitchen had been shoved together so tightly that it felt cramped. Yet in various areas it felt quite the opposite–oddly empty with wasted unused space. So, here’s what we did. We removed the exterior door and reworked the layout by placing all the commercial refrigeration and freezer on one wall. This brought calm to the chaos. Tall bookcases were installed to look built-in which turned the entire back wall into a wall-pantry. The floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall doorless cabinets will provide ample storage for non-perishable items. The adjustable open pantry shelving offers flexibility and keeps items visible and accessible. In its favor, an open-shelf design approach eliminates lots of door opening and door closing. What you see, is what you can access first time around, which adds to efficiency.

Before After

The existing tiles on the floor were pretty beat up. The tiles were stuck to the concrete which made it no easy feat to remove. Florida Flooring professionally removed the timeworn floor tiles. Pucci Tile replaced the flooring with non-glare, water-resistant wood-look vinyl planks.  And no rugs were incorporated as a part of the kitchen floor aesthetic – there’s a reason they are called “throw” rugs.

We installed crisp white Shaker-style cabinets made by Koch Cabinetry. Wilsonart natural stone-look laminate countertops were installed. Wilsonart’s Italian White di Pesco, displays a large scale marble in light grey with deep brown and white veining. The laminate countertops provide a heat and scratch resistant surface ideal for this busy kitchen.

Before After

As you can see in the photo, Pucci Tile installed porcelain glossy rectangular subway tiles, 2-inches by 10-inches. At the sink, the tiles were extended from the countertop all the way up to the ceiling. This created a bold statement. These Glazzio tiles have a handcrafted look. This particular tile is known to be perfectly imperfect and the irregularities are what make them unique and gorgeous. This porcelain tile was selected especially for its stunning glossy finish, which allows the backsplash to reflect light while adding a dramatic contrast to the white cabinetry. We kept the former stainless steel mobile island which sits on wheels for superior maneuverability.  

This kitchen was once a pastel peach beauty. We painted the new kitchen gray to pair beautifully with the flooring and countertops. Something as simple as paint color can easily transform the feel of a room and can be done in less than a day.

There are renovation projects, and then there are renovation projects in a fully operational assisted living facility. This job couldn’t have been completed in such a short period of time without Mark and Kathy Kemeny, Jeff Reed, and Aaron Shaffer. They worked hard to make sure minimal disruptions were made to the daily activities of 14 residents and staff during the renovations. The team worked tirelessly to complete the work according to the promised timelines and made the renovations a huge success.

 

Before After

I think most passionate kitchen designers love their jobs, I know I did. Helping people create the center of their home was always an honor. This commercial kitchen was a special honor, and it looks fabulous! I love how it all turned out.

Michele

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