Carlson Projects — Remodel, Design, Build Start Your Project
The finished 1926 kitchen seen from the dining room, with white shaker cabinets, a quartz peninsula, and a thin brick floor.

1926 KITCHEN

This kitchen did not gain a single square foot, and it still feels far bigger. The family had put up with a small, dark kitchen for years while they raised their kids in this house. The plan was a kitchen that works for how they cook and gather now and still feels like it belongs in a 1926 home.

When demo started, the team found a whole extra foot of ceiling. The original plaster had started to come down at some point, and instead of repairing it, someone framed a second ceiling right underneath. Taking that back out gave the room its height again and made room for taller cabinets.

Next, the wall to the dining room came out. The old kitchen had one small corner of counter and a built-in eating bench on the far side. The seating moved to a new peninsula that opens to the dining room, so the family kept their seats, picked up a lot more counter, and the kitchen finally connects to the rest of the house.

The homeowner had always wanted a bay window. It was framed so the quartz runs straight into the window instead of stopping at a wood sill. That adds usable counter behind the fireclay sink and makes the whole wall feel wider. Her other request on the first walkthrough was a brick floor, and the thin brick, sealed in place, looks like it has been in the house for a hundred years.

There is no island. The room is too small to do one well, so the sink, range, dishwasher, and trash pull-out all sit one or two steps apart. Across the room, a wall that used to be blank is now a foot-deep pantry from floor to ceiling beside the fridge, and the heat vents run through the sides of the cabinets.

Project Type: Kitchen Remodel

Project Manager: Scott Carlson

Superintendent: Mark Acros

Design Team: Shawn Carlson

Estimate Budget (based off year work was done): $80,000 – $100,000

Design Aesthetic: Transitional with Historic Character

Wide view of the finished kitchen with white shaker cabinets, a stainless range and microwave, a bay window, and a thin brick floor.
A three-panel bay window over a white fireclay sink, with the quartz countertop running all the way into the window.
The kitchen from the dining side, looking toward the range wall and the bay window, with a rug on the brick floor.
The bay window and fireclay sink under a glass pendant light.
Close-up of the sealed thin brick floor laid in a running pattern.
A wall of gray cabinets built around the refrigerator, running floor to ceiling.
Gray pantry cabinets and the refrigerator seen across the quartz peninsula.
White shaker cabinet doors with long black pulls.
The range wall with white upper cabinets, gray tall cabinets, and a view toward the bay window.
White shaker drawers and cabinets wrapping an inside corner.
The refrigerator built into the gray pantry wall.
The finished kitchen seen through an original wood-trimmed doorway.
The stainless range and microwave set into white shaker cabinets.
Detail of the gray cabinetry beside the refrigerator.
The kitchen and quartz peninsula over the brick floor.
The range wall with gray tall cabinets on the left and white upper cabinets on the right.
A floor vent cut into the base of a white cabinet above the brick floor.
The refrigerator wall and peninsula with the dining room beyond.

THE 1926 KITCHEN | before + after

Side-by-side before and after. Before: a low ceiling, dark cabinets, and a laminate peninsula. After: white shaker cabinets, a quartz counter, and a brick floor.

Side-by-side before and after of the sink wall. Before: two small windows over a laminate counter. After: a bay window with the counter running into it over a fireclay sink.

Side-by-side before and after of the kitchen corner. Before: a built-in eating bench and dark cabinets. After: white cabinets, a range wall, and a bay window.

FOLLOW THE BUILD

Every post from this kitchen, from the first walkthrough to the finished film.

PROJECT RESOURCES

Stefan walks through the finished kitchen and explains each change: the ceiling, the wall, the bay window, the brick floor, and why there is no island.

How We Made a 1926 Kitchen Feel Bigger Without Adding a Square Foot

5 Things You Need To Know About Your Remodel

BLOGS

Change the way you live.

Start Your Project