From Dated to Dreamy: The Martinez Kitchen in Pasadena

The Martinez family had lived in their Pasadena home for 14 years. The kitchen still looked the way it did when they bought it: oak cabinets that had seen better decades, tan formica counters, a wall that cut the kitchen off from the living room, and lighting that washed out everything in clinical fluorescent.

"We hosted Thanksgiving dinner one year and I realized I had been talking to the back of my own family for two hours because of that wall," Sarah told us. "That was the moment we decided to do this for real."

The scope grew to a full open-concept renovation. Removing the load-bearing wall to the dining room added $14,000 for engineering and a structural beam. White shaker semi-custom cabinets (Kraftmaid Northwood line), Caesarstone quartz waterfall island, panel-ready Sub-Zero refrigerator integrated into the cabinetry, Wolf 36-inch dual fuel range, and brass pendants from Visual Comfort. Light oak engineered hardwood throughout.

The project ran 11 weeks from demo to final inspection. Final spend: $92,000, slightly above the $75-90k bid range due to a surprise water line behind the old cabinets that needed full replacement. The Martinez family hosted the next Thanksgiving with everyone in one room. Sarah said it was worth every penny.