By Ann Tatko-Peterson
Contra Costa Times

BANK OF windows opens to an idyllic picture: Lush green grass slopes toward a sand bunker and a large pond edges the back deck of Craig and Mary Wilson’s Discovery Bay Country Club property.

Windows run the length of the rear kitchen wall, overlooking a gleaming granite counter that covers the same expanse. A pocket work area, complete with desk space and drawer, connects off the counter and looks out over the same vista.

“All of this,” Craig says, sweeping a hand to encompass the renovated kitchen. “The driving force behind it was the view.”

The transformation from a compact room swimming in dated blue tile to a traditional-style kitchen radiating the warmth of a villa, took six months, a total gutting and a few glitches.

The Wilsons had two advantages when they undertook the project last year. They had experience, having already overhauled a kitchen in a nearby townhouse, and they had that same townhouse to live in while remodel No. 2 was taking place.

“It’s a good thing we were living over there,” Craig says. “We didn’t exactly have to live through the dust and mess.”

Out and in

Craig drew up the design for a new kitchen that essentially stripped the old one down to its studs. Out went the blue tile backsplash and blue-and-white checkered floor that were original to the 1989 house. Out came the white appliances — sink included — and oak cabinets that rose to the ceilings.

Up went the ceiling to accommodate recessed lighting, replacing a large fluorescent drop box. And down came the load-bearing wall, along with a backsplash mirror meant to visually enlarge the room at the kitchen’s entrance.

The latter required permits and considerable structural fortification but is also what helps the room now flow into the foyer and living room.

The Wilsons added a series of recessed lights, all wired to separate switches that allow for zoned lighting. They also included two pendant lights over an enlarged island.

“The contractor called it a runway,” Craig says. “It gets very bright in here when all the lights are on.”

Choosing cabinets

More open space and ample lighting helped direct their selection of cabinets. All were custom built in cherry wood featuring a slightly darker finish on top.

“I wanted darker,” Mary said. “We had beechwood in the townhouse, which fit into the smaller space. But this space is so big, we wanted something a little more formal.”

Special cabinet features include a pantry with pullout shelves, two pullout spice racks and a dual wastebasket cabinet for garbage and recycling. Giving the room some distinction is a raised corner cabinet inset with glass and lowered from the ceiling.

“Sometimes having all those cabinets can get pretty monotonous,” Mary says. “This one is different. It cuts up the cabinets a bit.”

In place of monotony, the Wilsons styled their kitchen in complementing Earth tones. The floor and backsplash are finished in sand-colored Travertine tiles. Gold and beige-hued granite comprise most of the counters, accented by black granite for the raised bar. And they completed the look with stainless steel appliances and an oversized single sink made from a composite that looks like granite but has a softer finish than stainless steel.

To avoid breaking the clean lines of their new kitchen, the Wilsons eschewed a traditional ceiling-mounted exhaust fan and opted for a telescopic downdraft model from GE Profile. The fan, built into the island, rises behind a five-burner stove with the press of a button. Fumes and smoke are drawn down and expelled through a vent that runs under the floor.

“Now the neighbors know what we had for dinner,” Craig says with a laugh.

As with most remodeling projects, the Wilsons encountered obstacles, from cabinet placement to granite installation.

“But ultimately,” Mary says, “now that’s it’s over, we’re pleased with it.”