Books, baking and family gatherings inspired this retired couple’s kitchen renovation and addition in Walnut Creek, California. The wife, an avid cook and voracious reader, drove the project, and her husband, a retired contractor, handled the construction with help from their son. They hired kitchen and bath designer Dalia Nish to help them transform their chopped-up floor plan into one great room.
Their goals were an area for baking with the grandchildren and more space for gathering with extended family, all in a light-filled room. To achieve that, they tore down walls, absorbed porch space and added a vaulted ceiling. Nish also designed custom storage for kitchen items, showcasing everyday glass and china alongside the extensive book collection.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Walnut Creek, California
Size: 345 square feet (32 square meters)
Designer: Dalia Nish of Studio Nish Interior Design
Before: Walls in the ranch house separated the kitchen, left, from the dining room. On the right, the homeowners’ book collection had outgrown the existing built-in bookshelves.
Nish extended the kitchen’s footprint by using the 4-foot-deep front porch space outside the kitchen window, gaining about 85 square feet (see floor plans below).