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Watch a video around the design of this project.

Read an article on this project in Rue Daily.

Intentions: A family of four on a tight budget in a beautiful Spanish style home in Redwood Heights District of Oakland needed a new kitchen.  The husband was a professional photographer and the wife a professional chef. The husband’s main concern was avoiding creating something that took away from the aesthetics of their already beautiful home. The wife was wanting a more functional kitchen that not only allowed her to do her job better, but also to share her love of cooking with her two young children.  The kitchen was so small, however, and the counter and storage space so limited, that she felt cramped having anyone else but just her there, leading her to feel isolated as well.

Functional Results: The wife provided us with a list of all the cooking utensils she needed on hand, as well as storage and counter space requirements.  We removed the wall separating the space into two, and relocated the pantry in a more easily accessible place. A prominent peninsula in the middle served as much needed prep station, as well as a place for their children to hang out and talk.  We sacrificed a window for more counter space and storage, but replaced the lost natural light by enlarging the window over the nearby sink.  The wife’s home office was also upgraded with additional desk space and storage underneath. We made several 3D models to ensure that we had indeed accounted for the wife’s equipment as well as making sure it functioned as best as possible.

Aesthetic Results: The husband had this to say to the team, “my role as a photographer is to extend the life of the viewer by stopping time.” What he meant is that when we see something beautiful, we get out of the rat race of time, and simply start being, which is timeless. We mixed and matched different colored prefab cabinets to keep the cost down, but added nice hardware to give it a personal touch. Moroccan tile work, and a beautiful wood floor really made the project sing.

In the end, the wife had this to say about 3 Lights Design’s attention to detail, “I’m so impressed how you heard all the little silly things I was saying and got it into a picture!!!” For us, the “silly little things” are everything. That’s how we named this project.