Tiny Kitchen, Big Ideas

kitchen style

tiny kitchen big ideas

What this Minnesota kitchen lacks in square footage, it more than makes up for in clever space-stretching solutions.

Kim Cornelison and Alfe Ferreyra

kim Cornelison and her husband, Alfe Ferreyra, endured 15 months of dust, disorder, and displacement so the teeny 10-foot-by-12 1/2 -foot kitchen of their 1901 cottage in Linden Hills, MN, could get bigger  ––  by exactly 3 feet. But with those extra 36 inches, they transformed a dark, awkward cook space with a single small window into an efcient kitchen bursting with personality. “We didn’t want a mammoth kitchen because that wouldn’t have worked with the scale of our 1,500-squarefoot house,” says Kim, a photographer. “All we needed was more light and a new layout.” Working with architect Colby Mattson, the couple replaced the rear wall with a cantilevered bumpout addition that includes Home Depot cabinets with Calacatta gold marble countertops, a Miele dishwasher, a farmhouse sink, and a trio of sash windows. With abundant natural sunlight  ––  and a ceiling raised 4 inches, thanks to a simultaneous remodel of the second-foor bathroom above  ––   the kitchen instantly felt airy and open. “I’m still amazed at the bump-out. It was a little change with a huge payof,” says Kim.

sink and faucet

A deep apron-front farmhouse sink makes dish duty less of a chore. “I love its simple lines,” says Kim. The faucet, in an oil-rubbed bronze fnish, is by Whitehaus.

table and chairs

A slim zinc-covered counterheight table is a sophisticated take on restaurant-style stainless steel prep tables. The white bentwood stools are from Crate & Barrel.

chandelier

Kim scored the 1960s faux-bamboo fxture for $50 at local antiques shop hunt & gather, then painted the brassy metal white (The right White by restoration hardware).

hood

after spotting a similar hood in a european magazine, Kim hired a set builder friend to make the wood stove vent. “its curves are a nice contrast to the sleek Viking range,” says alfe.

tile

handmade cement tiles from cuban Tropical Tile co. have all the graphic pow of wallpaper but are wipe-clean practical.