shawnaleeah So beautiful, though I dislike the refrigerator being beside the table.

carrmichael83 That is all you could do with $50K!!!

carrmichael83 Good call on the fridge. I guess the dinning table is also the prep table. I am sorry to belittle this so much, but this should be in the Ideabook "$50k Gone Wrong"!

dana29 Lucky family, I would love to win a new kitchen too :) I really like the idea of moving the laundry room out of the kitchen. It was so cluttered before and looks way better now.

nikilyn207 For those who are being negative: You have a right to your opinions. However, sharing them hurts people unnecessarily. What is important is that the kitchen functions well for the family who will be using it and that it appeals to their taste. I hope Cha and his family create many happy memories in their new kitchen. I personally like it, but then again, my opinion isn't important. The family's opinion is.

nikilyn207 I think moving the laundry was a great move. That wall of the kitchen wasn't contributing at all to food prep and food storage. You need plenty of space for those things in a kitchen for a family of six. I love the symmetry now of the fridge with flanking cabinets in line with the table, in line with the glass doors. The way the fridge jutted into the space before was awkward. Getting the fridge out of there created space for someone to help the cook prepare food to the right of the stove. The microwave is now much more accessible, even when someone is cooking at the stove. The laundry room may be cramped, but probably worth the sacrifice for what was gained in the kitchen. I love that the decision was made to take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling. The space is there, so use it. The new kitchen is well thought out and lovely.

mom2boys I love the built-in pullout pantry shelving! Thanks for sharing and enjoy your new kitchen!

cadaveria Not being mean, but I don't understand the tile only wrapping half way and then putting a liitle back on the rest..it just doesn't look right to me.
I would consider continuing the linear tile around the entire cabinetry if I were this family!

midmodfan A huge part of the appeal - in any after photo - comes from the tidiness. Six neatly placed cans of tomato soup look a lot better than the rather messy 'before'. May the spirit of the new kitchen and the improved storage keep clutter at bay.

Would I have guessed it cost $50k? No. But look what a difference it makes when the cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling and how much the space opens up after moving the fridge. I think the new kitchen is a huge improvement.

snchry What is wonderful about this remodel is the change of layout. My parents live with me and the old layout in the Cha's kitchen ensures that helpful grandma and grandpa are totally in the way during mealtimes when there is the most traffic. Four adults and two kids trying to get breakfast all in each other's way! The new layout relieves the terminal congestion and overcrowding and gives you a little elbow room to get your coffee fast and escape the in-laws. Kudos Mr. Cha!

redwildgoose I love the cabinets going to the ceiling and am doing that in my kitchen renovation. But i want more than 18 inches between the counter and the upper cabinets. i dont have much prep workspace, and i have decided to put 36" cabinets to the ceiling, giving me 24" between my counter and the cabinets. the ceilings are 8 ft. Has anyone else tried this and how did it work out?

The Pazirandehs $50k may seem like a lot but when you include, the revamped laundry room, they touched close to 200 sqft brining the cost per sqft to under $300. For a kitchen this is not unreasonable.

I also doubt exactly $50k was spent. With Lowes proving the goods and services who knows how they priced it.

As for the controversial centerpiece fridge, while it may look borderline ridiculous, I like the idea of grabbing a beer or some ice cream without having to get out of my chair!

caseyem I think a corner sink would have been better.

Tom McCoy I would gladlt take his "before" kitchen. It looks 100x better than my 70's brown particle board kitchen. What did he do with the leftovers???

alwaysdesigning A remodeled space can make the whole house feel new and it brings a new energy to the whole family.

amandapadgett Things add up FAST, so I can easily see this being $50K. New appliances, floor, cabinets, counters, table, moving walls and more.

I think it is beautiful!!! The fridge isn't in ideal location, but I am sure there is a reason for that.

To the family - congratulations and I hope you have many happy times in your new kitchen.

oldblackdog Looks like a beautiful sleek redo of an awkward space to me. My one thought - I've been obsessing about microwave locations. I hate them over the stove - and being placed so high up that there's a danger of spills as well as interfering with range use. But at this height - and it looks so much better this way - would it feel awkward to use? The Fridge at the end of the table - well, in a large family, it sure would keep people out of the the intense prep areas.

mrkvndns I think we're all spoiled by the elaborate and beautiful pictures we typically see on this website. They're all great, but rarely do they mention the cost. Seeing what was done with $50k makes me wonder what these other kitchens cost. Would be interesting if at the time of posting a picture here the cost of the project or room would also be posted. I suspect many of us would be shocked by the amounts spent on some rooms and would lead to comments like "you spent $100k on your kitchen, what are you thinking?".

1 2 1 S T U D i O . C O M OMG--Sooooo much better! Can't believe they managed to get this all done for $50K--including contractor, materials, appliances--unheard of in this market! LOVE the grey floor and linear tiles, and disagree with other posts--moving the fridge and creating a tall wall was such a good move--now there's a ton more counterspace to work. This is an eat-in kitchen, not a formal dining room, it totally works. I have no problem with fridge next to table; it keeps the kids out of your way when cooking. Look at the "before" photo--the fridge WAS right next to the table to begin with, only it was an ugly hulking mass making the space feel crowded, now it's an elegant symmetrical wall--Kudos to this family, they lucked out!

pfr123 I think Jeffrey Blum's work is gorgeous. Each room is a pleasure to look at and would be a joy to live in. Maybe because my kitchen could use some work, I especially love his kitchen, it would make anybody want to cook. Great work.
Patricia Friedland

tcufrog My mother-in-law lives with us half of the year and it's amazing what a difference having a functional kitchen makes. Moving that wall and adding wiring and plumbing for the moved washer and dryer probably took up a large chunk of their budget. With that in mind I can see how the project took 50k. It's also nice to see a remodel that put practicality front and center.

margokitchen Love how Jeffrey Blum opened up the kitchen and detached the laundry room. More space for the big family, the warm grey tles and clean lines work for me! Great job!

kellystevens Much better layout, much better looking cabinets and counters.

empresslockness This is a beautiful remodel. I'm just not feeling the refrigerator being way across the room next to the dining room table. This doesn't seem very efficient.

msmonotone I too have a kitchen with a fridge placement dilemma. When we moved into our 1927 home, the fridge wasn't even located in the kitchen- it was located in a hallway directly across from a powder room! Overall, I think the designer came up with the best solution for this family and their home- but I would have utilized panels on the fridge to match the cabinets.
My Question is: How does the person doing laundry reach those settings located at the top of the appliance above?

Bonnie Actually, there is an interesting article on Houzz about kitchen layouts and it says if you are going to move anything out of the work triangle that the Oven should be the thing to be moved. The oven you may only use once a day whereas you may open the refrigerator a dozen times a day. Sorry, I think it was a bad call to move the fridge out of the triangle.

Tina Menhennick I would love either kitchen, it's prettier than what I have now! LOL Larger and more space, either kitchen, his old one or his new one. . .

VizYOUlize-it Digital Remodeling Heck, I would have been thrilled with the before kitchen :D

jlg45 I would love to even have his BEFORE kitchen! Way better than mine.