Distinctive Remodelers Creates New Double-Sized Kitchen for Oak Lawn Family
Oak Lawn, IL, October 07, 2011 --(PR.com)-- After 22 years, Sue Marcinkowski had reached the boiling point in the cramped galley kitchen of her 60-year-old Oak Lawn ranch home. In addition to cabinet doors that wouldn’t fully close any longer, she had endured loose and crumbling tile, formica countertops scarred with pot burns, no dishwasher, and a refrigerator door that, when opened, blocked access to the room’s back door.
She needed more space, new components, and greater functionality and efficiency in the most important room in her family’s home.
“Our kitchen was a disaster. Everything seemed to be falling apart,” said Sue, a teacher and mother of two boys, one serving in the military and the other grown son still living at home. “We were planning on remaining in our home, but we wanted more of an updated, convenient kitchen that we could enjoy, as well as a few improvements to other areas of the house. We didn’t have a particular vision or plan—we just wanted a more modernized home.”
After Sue and her husband Bob and became inspired watching remodeling shows on HGTV and reading about home makeover projects in magazines, they decided to finally do something about their kitchen dilemma. The couple began attending home design expos and hunting for the right remodeling firm last spring. While they met with a few contractors, they couldn’t find a company that appeared capable of handling both a major kitchen redo as well as upgrades to other spaces in their home. Distinctive Remodelers of Orland Park had created a new kitchen in the home of Sue’s sister Kim in Worth and two new bathrooms in the Orland Park home of Kim’s sister-in-law. After talking with them and hearing their positive recommendations, Sue and Bob decided to contact Distinctive Remodelers in late May.
“Bryan from Distinctive suggested knocking down the wall-and-a-half between our kitchen and the dining room next door, extending the cabinets and countertops into the new shared space, and inserting an island in the center of the room,” said Bob. “It would mean compromising the formal dining room space we had, but we wouldn’t miss it, especially with a breakfast bar island we could sit at. We never would have thought of this strategy, and it would involve a project of a larger scope than we had originally thought, but we loved the idea.”
Often, homeowners feel hesitant to remove walls, especially if they’re load-bearing walls, in a renovation project, Bryan Nooner said.
“But if you implement the right ceiling support, follow appropriate construction techniques, and carefully plan the re-routing of any electrical, plumbing, and ductwork within, you can definitely take out a wall and actually improve your home’s structural integrity. That was certainly the case with Bob and Sue’s kitchen,” said Nooner. “We still encountered a few unforeseen challenges, however, which can happen when you gut a room and remove walls in an older home, which wasn’t built to the same codes as today. We discovered that many of their walls had leaks and lacked insulation, for example—problems that we were careful to correct.”
Bryan and his crew began demolition in early June. They swapped the outdated cabinets with custom birch cabinetry topped with a handsome cherry finish and installed tan-toned granite countertops. They implemented all new Sears appliances, created a sparkling travertine tile backsplash, and put in ample can lights, pendants, and undercabinet lights. Additionally, the laminate and hardwood floors were replaced with attractive oak hardwoods, and the existing garden window was upgraded and moved to center directly above the new sink, creating an attractive focal point in the room.
But the Marcinkowski family’s project didn’t end there. They also had Bryan’s team enhance the attic insulation, install new attic pulldown stairs, improve the entry door to the crawlspace, paint the living room, and replace sections of the hardwood floor in the living room. The job was completed by late July, and Sue can’t stop smiling.
“I feel like at least half our house is brand new. I now have more elbow room to cook and serve, and that makes me want to cook and entertain more—which we’ve been doing plenty of the last couple months,” said Sue.
“I now have a kitchen that has exceeded my wildest dreams, thanks to Bryan’s creative concept and his crew’s quality workmanship,” said Sue, who was also grateful to Jullya Molburg, Distinctive’s vice president of sales and marketing, who collaborated closely with the Marcinkowskis throughout the entire process.
To make an appointment for a free estimate, contact Distinctive Remodelers at (708) 479-7700. For more information, visit www.DistinctiveRemodelers.com.
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She needed more space, new components, and greater functionality and efficiency in the most important room in her family’s home.
“Our kitchen was a disaster. Everything seemed to be falling apart,” said Sue, a teacher and mother of two boys, one serving in the military and the other grown son still living at home. “We were planning on remaining in our home, but we wanted more of an updated, convenient kitchen that we could enjoy, as well as a few improvements to other areas of the house. We didn’t have a particular vision or plan—we just wanted a more modernized home.”
After Sue and her husband Bob and became inspired watching remodeling shows on HGTV and reading about home makeover projects in magazines, they decided to finally do something about their kitchen dilemma. The couple began attending home design expos and hunting for the right remodeling firm last spring. While they met with a few contractors, they couldn’t find a company that appeared capable of handling both a major kitchen redo as well as upgrades to other spaces in their home. Distinctive Remodelers of Orland Park had created a new kitchen in the home of Sue’s sister Kim in Worth and two new bathrooms in the Orland Park home of Kim’s sister-in-law. After talking with them and hearing their positive recommendations, Sue and Bob decided to contact Distinctive Remodelers in late May.
“Bryan from Distinctive suggested knocking down the wall-and-a-half between our kitchen and the dining room next door, extending the cabinets and countertops into the new shared space, and inserting an island in the center of the room,” said Bob. “It would mean compromising the formal dining room space we had, but we wouldn’t miss it, especially with a breakfast bar island we could sit at. We never would have thought of this strategy, and it would involve a project of a larger scope than we had originally thought, but we loved the idea.”
Often, homeowners feel hesitant to remove walls, especially if they’re load-bearing walls, in a renovation project, Bryan Nooner said.
“But if you implement the right ceiling support, follow appropriate construction techniques, and carefully plan the re-routing of any electrical, plumbing, and ductwork within, you can definitely take out a wall and actually improve your home’s structural integrity. That was certainly the case with Bob and Sue’s kitchen,” said Nooner. “We still encountered a few unforeseen challenges, however, which can happen when you gut a room and remove walls in an older home, which wasn’t built to the same codes as today. We discovered that many of their walls had leaks and lacked insulation, for example—problems that we were careful to correct.”
Bryan and his crew began demolition in early June. They swapped the outdated cabinets with custom birch cabinetry topped with a handsome cherry finish and installed tan-toned granite countertops. They implemented all new Sears appliances, created a sparkling travertine tile backsplash, and put in ample can lights, pendants, and undercabinet lights. Additionally, the laminate and hardwood floors were replaced with attractive oak hardwoods, and the existing garden window was upgraded and moved to center directly above the new sink, creating an attractive focal point in the room.
But the Marcinkowski family’s project didn’t end there. They also had Bryan’s team enhance the attic insulation, install new attic pulldown stairs, improve the entry door to the crawlspace, paint the living room, and replace sections of the hardwood floor in the living room. The job was completed by late July, and Sue can’t stop smiling.
“I feel like at least half our house is brand new. I now have more elbow room to cook and serve, and that makes me want to cook and entertain more—which we’ve been doing plenty of the last couple months,” said Sue.
“I now have a kitchen that has exceeded my wildest dreams, thanks to Bryan’s creative concept and his crew’s quality workmanship,” said Sue, who was also grateful to Jullya Molburg, Distinctive’s vice president of sales and marketing, who collaborated closely with the Marcinkowskis throughout the entire process.
To make an appointment for a free estimate, contact Distinctive Remodelers at (708) 479-7700. For more information, visit www.DistinctiveRemodelers.com.
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Distinctive Remodelers
Lynn Walsh
630-323-7200
Lynn Walsh
630-323-7200
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