This Coal Valley Illinois kitchen just got a whole new look and layout! We made functional changes (like that new view and access to the pool shown below) and updated the look and style of the entire main level of this home. Custom Rustic Alder cabinetry from our Four Acre Amish cabinetry line is stained in a “Saddle” finish and accented kitchen island and hutch are finished with a “Light Pewter” paint. Accents of brushed gold metals, an incredible KitchenAid appliance package, and gorgeous Cambria countertops complete the look.
We moved the walk-out access to the backyard down closer to the pool view, and replaced the original window with a new wet bar. Two original peninsulas were replaced with a new custom hutch section. The new look is open, bright, and very stylish! Work was needed in this kitchen, the adjacent dining and living rooms, and entire back area of the home. That is a lot to tackle when you are also living in the home. These amazing customers called us and the complete start-to-finish Project Management team at Village Home Stores got to work for them.
There is such a transformation to the entire main level of this home that there is no way we could walk you through everything here on the blog… so instead we taped a full 1/2 hr. episode of our weekly TV show about this remodel story! Stay tuned for it to air very soon at our new time Sunday mornings at 10am on WQAD News Channel 8 ABC. In the meantime, check out this short video we made documenting some of the process. Press play below to see this kitchen and back door area transform!
Now that you have seen what it took to get to this stunning space, let’s take a closer look around at the details, materials, and design that give us this amazing end result. We replaced the U-shaped island obstacle with a long, rectangle island design with overhang on the back for counter-height stools. The refrigerator moved to a new location and the long, range wall became the featured focal point in the kitchen section of this design.
The large scale of the KitchenAid commercial 48″ wide dual fuel range is repeated with a custom wood hood above it. The cabinetry surrounding the range is symmetrical with staggered depths and heights in the upper cabinets. What a dream space to get to work preparing a meal! Concealed within that large mantle hood cabinet is a Broan blower insert so that there is proper ventilation when the cooktop or griddle is in use.
One of the benefits to purchasing from our custom Amish-built cabinetry lines is the ability to build sections of cabinets as one unit. Instead of this hood arriving at the jobsite as many cabinets and a lot of trim pieces, it arrives already assembled and finished just as you see it here. Our carpenters just had to install it and trim off the top with crown molding. The end result for you is a custom, seamless look and feel.
This range will certainly be the envy of any serious home chef! A dual fuel KitchenAid range with combined oven capacity of 6.3 cu.ft. and a 6-burner gas cooktop and chrome electric griddle on top. Dual fuel means you get the benefits of electric baking in the oven cavities and the immediate control of a gas cooktop above. Shop all of our incredible cooking appliances with our Local Low Price Guarantee at villagehomestores.com
Who wouldn’t love to have a griddle integrated into a cooking zone like this?This even-heat chrome griddle offers a great cooking performance for this household and has an easy-to-clean surface. That means pancakes on a Sunday morning doesn’t mean cleaning up after pancakes all Sunday afternoon. There is no seasoning required for the griddle, and the chrome allows you to never have any flavor transfers from meal to meal. If you were able to contain your envy about the range, cover your eyes and ears when we point out the pot-filler faucet right above the cooktop.
Many magazine-cover kitchens include this wall faucet feature. For those who truly use their kitchens, this decorative feature is also highly functional! Imagine filling a pasta pot with water right at the cooktop. Or adding water to used pots and pans to soak for a bit before washing. We also designed this cooking zone to be functional during the cooking process with amazing storage surrounding it. Large pots and pans drawers are found on this wall as well as two pullout cabinets surrounding the range.
A 12″ pullout spice rack on the left side of the range and a 12″ pullout utensil storage cabinet on the right. We have installed many of these utensil cabinets this year and they are such a great specialty cabinet! Instead of mining through a wide or deep drawer of utensils, see everything in these organized bins and grab what you need. We also love that the lower shelf in this cabinet can be used for large containers and bottles.
Of course in any busy kitchen the island becomes the place to gather. With a new flow to this kitchen layout, the new island offers a space to casually eat, clean up, and even prepare foods. The island has a furniture style look with an accented “Light Pewter” painted finish and legs at each corner.
The backside of the island appears to be a custom wainscot panel… but there is storage hidden under that overhang! Each cabinet opens to reveal shelf storage for small appliances, serving trays, and seasonal items. We have found that some customers prefer storage hidden beneath an area like this, instead of an extra shelf on top of the wall cabinets that require a stepstool or ladder to reach.
The kitchen island countertop surface is the best place to showcase the Cambria Quartz that was selected for this new kitchen. The Brittanicca Warm design gives a warm white background and dove grays vein through it for a marble look. The look of marble with the worry-free piece of mind that this surface can hold up to these kids and adults using the kitchen.
From YouTube-curious slime-making kids, to red-wine spilling guests, it’s no problem! We also installed outlets on each end of the kitchen island because kitchen islands are also multi-tasking spaces like home offices, homework stations, as well as food prep areas. In this kitchen, the island is also home to the microwave drawer, sink, and dishwasher.
Our designer at Village Home Stores included a lower drawer sink base cabinet. This gives plenty of space in the cabinet for plumbing and also a shallow drawer for cleaning supplies below. The undermounted sink in this kitchen is an e-granite composite material with a low center divider. Why a low divider? When was the last time you actually filled up your entire sink with water?
This alternative low-divider sink layout allows those who don’t soak dishes a wider space for washing larger items and pans with handles. Even with all of these new cabinets, you can never have enough pantry space when you have lots of kids and entertain large groups. We moved the refrigerator from its original location and added a pantry area to the main range wall of the kitchen design.
But that’s not just a 24″ deep pantry cabinet… its a pantry front that opens up to access a walk-in hidden pantry. We framed in an entire new pantry area for this household borrowing space from the laundry room right behind the kitchen. We cut out an opening so it could be accessed from the kitchen and voila! As these kids call it, a “secret room” pantry!
Speaking of the kids, a household with active kids… means piles and clutter right? Not on our watch! We partnered with this couple to design drop zones and storage solutions that these kids can use and grow along with. We will show you the amazing mudroom bench area just around the corner in a future blog feature. In the meantime, check out this kitchen drop zone!
Base cabinet storage designated for school papers and all those water bottles and snack food containers! There is even a way to keep school papers sorted and out of sight. Did you notice the wall here? What’s one way to avoid papers piling up on a counter? Just give the option of a way to pop them up on the wall! We installed a magnetic wall surface here that can help display artwork, calendars, notes, reminders, and more!
The stainless magnetic wall surface nearby keeps the built in refrigerator front looking clean. A dual compressor, French Door layout with Platinum finished interior keep the fresh and frozen foods organized and fresh. Ask an appliance expert at Village Home Stores about the Preserva food system available in most of our refrigerator options.
With a pool just outside of the new kitchen, and a great open concept layout like this of course you are going to find yourself entertaining from time to time. With three kids, even dinner at home as a family is a large crowd. There is a casual kitchen dining table within the new kitchen and a stylish wet bar area right next to it. This bar area allows for a great location for serving drinks or snacks away from the kitchen itself.
A section of glass-door cabinetry offers display for bar ware and glasses and a stacked stone wall surface compliments the stone of the fireplace just around the corner. This bar also includes a customer favorite (and all these kids admitted their favorite) built-in icemaker from KitchenAid.
Uniformly shaped ice cubes ideal for everyday applications. Clear Ice technology allows for a more attractive drink presentation and a slower melt rate! So that means less watered-down drinks for you! This panel-ready model and nearby paneled drawer appliances give the clean look of a row of cabinets, with great appliance features hidden in plain sight.
Those two drawers on the end are actually an appliance as well! The top is a refrigerator drawer full of snack items and kids beverages. The bottom drawer is a freezer full of popsicles and frosty mugs! Just steps from the pool, this bar area is a favorite for all ages!
A single well bar sink is also located in this bar area. The sink is the same material and color as the kitchen island sink and another Delta faucet is installed in a brushed brass/gold finish. That same gold accent is found in the home decor, lighting, and cabinet hardware of this design.
That same champagne brushed brass accent is repeated in the cabinet hardware. “Merrick” handles from our Hardware Resources line look great against the painted finishes and the woodgrain of the Rustic Alder cabinets.
The area that used to be two awkward peninsulas, is now a gorgeous hutch in a painted accent finish. Glass-front cabinets with X-mullions are lighted from within as well as an open shelf section in the center. These shelves will be so much fun to decorate throughout the year! Each glass-door cabinet stretches down to the countertop surface and a drawer allows another place to stash items away and out of sight.
Speaking of away and out of sight, how about this peninsula section packed with the kids crafting, coloring, and homework supplies! There is also an outlet (see below) with USB charging hubs right here for phone, tablet, and laptop access.
This custom hutch will also be available when entertaining as another area to gather or even serve food and beverages from. Our Diode LED tape lighting helps this kitchen design look great day and night. This low-voltage system is a customer favorite. Imagine how warm and inviting this hutch must look glowing at night!
Our designers can work with you to create a display and storage space perfect for your home and needs. Have a closet you wish was a built-in? Want to update the look of a dated cabinet section in your home? Contact the expert cabinet team at Village and let us know what you are working on. We have the material and carpenters who can make that happen for you.
There is so much to this remodel story and we truly can’t wait to share an entire Village Home Show episode with you about it! There are also many other rooms we worked on in this home that we will give some proper blog time to in the upcoming weeks. Did something in this kitchen feature check off a box on your own dream kitchen wishlist? Don’t miss out on a chance to see all of the finished photos from this remodel over here on our Houzz page. Have some questions about our remodel process and want to know how to get started? Your first step is to just reach out to our team. You can call us at (309) 944-1344 or complete this short online message form. A Village Home Stores team member is excited to get to work for you.
