Gallery

Thirteen Kitchens. All of Them Ours.

Every photograph shows a real kitchen in a real Chicago-area property, including how the room looked when we arrived. Full remodels, condo kitchens, islands, cabinetry, stone and smaller repairs. No stock photography. No renderings passed off as finished work.

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Taken to the studs: layout, cabinetry, stone, floor, lighting and appliances, as one job.

Before, and after

Drag the handle across any of these. The two frames are rarely shot from the same spot, because on day one there is usually a refrigerator standing where the camera needs to be, so you are pulling between two views of one room rather than peeling one off the other. Look closely. The work should hold up.

Lakeview condo, galley to island, after — Lakeview condo, galley to islandA closed galley with the refrigerator blocking the light, opened up and given a seated island.

Lakeview condo, galley to island, before — Lakeview condo, galley to islandA closed galley with the refrigerator blocking the light, opened up and given a seated island.

Lakeview condo, laminate to stone, after — Lakeview condo, laminate to stoneCream laminate and a tile floor, out. A marbled waterfall peninsula and brass pendants, in.

Lakeview condo, laminate to stone, before — Lakeview condo, laminate to stoneCream laminate and a tile floor, out. A marbled waterfall peninsula and brass pendants, in.

Lakeview high-rise, galley to peninsula, after — Lakeview high-rise, galley to peninsulaA galley with a ceiling fan and one window at the end, opened into the dining room and given a seated peninsula.

Lakeview high-rise, galley to peninsula, before — Lakeview high-rise, galley to peninsulaA galley with a ceiling fan and one window at the end, opened into the dining room and given a seated peninsula.

West side frame house, after — West side frame housePeeling plaster over dark oak, and a floor that came out in pieces. Rebuilt in white shaker with brass and stone.

West side frame house, before — West side frame housePeeling plaster over dark oak, and a floor that came out in pieces. Rebuilt in white shaker with brass and stone.

Emerald Avenue, after — Emerald AvenueStripped back with the windows boarded and the cabinets still in their wrapping. Finished in grey shaker with open shelving either side of the window.

Emerald Avenue, before — Emerald AvenueStripped back with the windows boarded and the cabinets still in their wrapping. Finished in grey shaker with open shelving either side of the window.

Forest Avenue, after — Forest AvenueThe closest thing we have to the same camera position twice. Oak and tiled counters out, shaker, subway and quartz in, with the back door exactly where it always was.

Forest Avenue, before — Forest AvenueThe closest thing we have to the same camera position twice. Oak and tiled counters out, shaker, subway and quartz in, with the back door exactly where it always was.

Mason Avenue, after — Mason AvenueCabinets stacked on the subfloor between open joists and bare brick, and the same room finished with a steel hood and brass.

Mason Avenue, before — Mason AvenueCabinets stacked on the subfloor between open joists and bare brick, and the same room finished with a steel hood and brass.

Pensacola Avenue, after — Pensacola AvenueThe kitchen we found in this house, and the kitchen we built in it.

Pensacola Avenue, before — Pensacola AvenueThe kitchen we found in this house, and the kitchen we built in it.

Rhodes Avenue two-flat, after — Rhodes Avenue two-flatTaken back to brick and joists, then rebuilt as one open room.

Rhodes Avenue two-flat, before — Rhodes Avenue two-flatTaken back to brick and joists, then rebuilt as one open room.

Yale Avenue, after — Yale AvenueA ceiling coming down in sheets and standing water on the floor. Rebuilt around a peninsula, with the windows opened back up.

Yale Avenue, before — Yale AvenueA ceiling coming down in sheets and standing water on the floor. Rebuilt around a peninsula, with the windows opened back up.

Open the full-size photos.
A kitchen is judged from two feet away.

Check the cabinet reveals, mitered corners, grout joints and stone seams. Those details tell you whether a kitchen was fitted to the room or simply assembled inside it.

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The craft

What separates a fitted kitchen from an assembled one

Chicago walls are rarely plumb, floors often slope and old ceilings can sag across the run. Level cabinets make every difference visible. The craft is in the measuring, fillers and scribes that make straight cabinetry belong in an imperfect room.

The last five percent is what your hands notice every day: drawers that close square, a stone seam kept out of the cleanup zone and a hood that moves cooking air outside.

The layout is solved on paper

Aisle widths, door swings, the distance from sink to range and the space behind a pulled-out stool are drawn to scale before any cabinet is ordered. Correcting an inch on paper is simple. Correcting it after delivery is not.

The stone follows the room

We template after the cabinets are set, then place the seams and confirm each cutout against the actual sink, cooktop and faucet. The finished top fits the room, not an earlier assumption.

Cooking air goes outside

Your hood is sized to the cooking surface and ducted to an exterior cap on the shortest practical run. Recirculation sends heat and moisture back into the kitchen. Proper extraction removes them.

Yes, we quote small jobs

A new countertop, refaced cabinet doors or a dishwasher that refuses to sit flush. We quote the focused kitchen jobs many remodelers pass over, with the same measuring and finish standards as a full gut.

What should yours do better?

Send a phone photo and tell us what is not working. We will visit, measure and prepare a free written estimate. No obligation.

Call (224) 425-6059 See our work

Free in-person estimates. Insured. A person answers Monday to Saturday.