A Custom Kitchen That Masters the Art of Storage
From Y2K to wow factor: a Beavercreek kitchen transformation
Designer Madeline Bauman from White Oak Interiors recently found herself in a unique situation: herself as her own client. The kitchen in her Beavercreek, OH, home had served them for a number of years, but the Y2K era design and layout had begun to wear a bit thin. Additionally, since she often hosts both clients and guests in the space, she wanted to elevate the dated honey-finished Shaker-style builder-grade kitchen to something with “a real wow factor.”
“The kitchen wasn’t working for us; it felt cramped, lacked storage, and didn’t have enough space for entertaining,” says Madeline.
Once RealTask Inc. had completed the initial demolition and restructuring for her, and the space's flow improved, she worked with us to address the remaining limitations, including a small island and limited storage.
Beauty and functionality were the focal points of this project, and custom cabinetry was key to addressing them effectively. The first thing that grabs your attention is the striking Cambria Brittanicca Gold Warm quartz countertops. Then your eye pivots to the arched-top coffee and wine bar, painted a striking dark green with a Bedrosians Kaikos tile backsplash. This area is one of Madeline’s favorite spaces in the whole kitchen.
“It’s a truly one-of-a-kind statement piece,” she says.
The coffee and wine bar was a fairly complex piece that required thoughtful planning from the start. We needed to incorporate two built-in appliances in the lower section, accommodate custom lighting, and ensure all electrical outlets remained hidden. The doors in the upper section also required some specialty hinges to function properly. To help things come together seamlessly, our team provided RealTask with a CNC-cut plywood template, ensuring the arched-top cabinet fit perfectly into the surrounding curved drywall.
“All of the templates they provided made our tough job doable,” said Graydon Filbrun of RealTask.
The contrasting plain-sawn white oak drawers (fitting for the White Oak Interiors kitchen) sprinkled throughout the space hide a wide variety of specialized storage solutions, including a dedicated water bottle drawer and a container organizer drawer. Our team worked directly with Century Components to develop custom pullout organizers for spices and oils, also in white oak, which are conveniently located near the cooking area. Off to the side, but not out of the way, next to the panel-finished refrigerator is a handy pantry cabinet with a mesh-bottomed, ventilated produce and bread drawer to keep things fresh.
“I believe the kitchen should be the central hub of the home. It’s a critical space that deserves to be designed with both beauty and functionality at its core, balancing visual impact with the realities of everyday life,” says Madeline.
“One of the most important aspects of any renovation is to have the right teams in place, proper planning, and good communication makes all the difference.”
Now that the kitchen has been remodelled, looks great, and is super functional; she finds herself able to better entertain and serve her clientele in the space. The real icing on the cake, though, is that now her family is really drawn to the kitchen, and it’s become a place where they spend a lot of their time.
Reflecting back on the project, Madeline says, “One of the most important aspects of any renovation is to have the right teams in place, proper planning, and good communication makes all the difference.”
We’re glad to have been a partner on this project. We, too, believe that the kitchen is the focal point of the home, and we’re thrilled to have helped make this a reality for this family, too.
