“When I look back at my life, when I was a kid, a lot of the memories from that time happened in our kitchen,” Simon said. “Good times and bad. And now that I’m older, now that I appreciate design,” he laughed, “I have to admit we had a particularly ugly kitchen in my childhood home. We don’t have children yet, but when we do, I want them to have their family memories happening in a beautiful room.”
Planning a Kitchen Remodel: Themes and Inspirations
As kitchen designers in Hopkinton, we’ve seen homeowners draw themes and inspirations for their kitchen renovations from many areas in their life. Simon, for example, drew on his family’s background in Italy and combined it with his partner’s love of sailing. “I know that doesn’t sound like it goes together, but I spent a very long time finding a way to make it work,” he laughed.
Other sources of kitchen design inspiration Simon found to be important included visiting antique stores and even flea markets – “I am always looking for a one of a kind visual element in any room, and in this instance it was these beautiful ceramic tiles that became the backsplash. Having something handmade so prominent in the room makes it feel like the kitchen has always been there, even though it’s new.”
While the design process of a kitchen remodel generally takes two to four weeks, Simon worked on his concept “literally for years” before calling in the professionals to start the renovation. “This was a very enjoyable process for me,” he said, “and I have to say that having a kitchen designer who was willing to take what I’d thought was an already perfect plan and finding ways to give us an even more delightful home made it even better.”