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[Oznell]

Designer/blogger Laurel Bern featured a coastal New Jersey shingled cottage that was renovated in 2018.  The designer was Nancy Keyes, whose own house had a fabulous kitchen upgrade that's been featured here before.

Here's the New Jersey cottage, so cute:

Despite the spacious wraparound porch, some of the room proportions inside are quite petite, with the kitchen having a fairly small footprint:

"BEFORE" kitchen:

Designer Nancy Keyes and the homeowner/client wanted more of an 'undone',  airy kitchen, dispensing with some of the upper cabinets, without losing storage.

"AFTER"  kitchen:

Opened up, and thankfully, that little squinched window from before is now normal size!  Darling vintage touches, like the milk glass towel rack at the end, and the vintage lamp.  Some might lament the loss of some upper cabinets, but wait....

...the homeowner says that the tall, pantry-like cupboards she gained give her all the storage she needs, in addition to the green lower cabinets--

Her heart was set on navy lower cabinets, until Nancy Keyes showed her this sumptuous deVOL bespoke English-style kitchen in green--

That shade of green proved too dull in her kitchen, so they found Benjamin Moore's "Hunter Green".

I think it's perfect in the New Jersey kitchen, balanced out with all the white, which is weirdly called "Distant Gray" by B. Moore, but is definitely white.  The pulls and knobs are from Restoration Hardware.

Almost too many things to mention, but did want to point out another genius move, this time on the ceiling.  With things opening up between two rooms, Nancy Keyes wanted to avoid a bowling alley effect, so she broke up the ceiling by doing beadboard on it, with shallow coffers in between-- which also accents the antique feeling of the house:

Perhaps my favorite thing they did, was re-imagine the poky dining room.  It wasn't working for the homeowner, who could seat six at the table, but only had had to do that twice in 18 years!  She just didn't do formal dinners.

"BEFORE" dining room:

So Nancy Keyes said, do a keeping room instead!  

There's still a small, chic Saarinen-style white table for intimate dining, and a gateleg table against the wall that can open up for more dining, when need be.  But the new keeping room is also about relaxing, and is more versatile for this homeowner than the previous dining room:

I love how cute and cozy it is, and appropriate to this type of house.  They did open it to the kitchen.  I'm not always for that, removing walls and such. But in this case, both small rooms seemed to benefit.

I might use this as a template, since I've been considering getting rid of my clunky dining table, relying on my gateleg table (I have one too!) for formal dining, and turning my tiny, 11 by 12 dining room into a sitting or "keeping" room too.  Better use of space for us.

Finally, they didn't have "before" pictures for the powder room below, but the after is darling.

They used an even more dramatic green on the wainscoting in here--  B. Moore's "Essex Green".

Again, very English, or what I'd call " vintage American sea captain" touches, with the tall chinoiserie mirror...

...and the whimsy of the painted, faux bamboo chandelier, illuminating the beadboard ceiling...

Overall, the first floor now has a nice, integrated feeling to me, very consistent with the age and mood of the shingled cottage.

[stevieb]

The kitchen redo is very nice, but, to me, not much in keeping with the vibe of the cottage. I'd have forgone the more modern aesthetic, though I do like the green of the cabinets. I'd have definitely nixed the stainless. The lone standout in the dining room, for me, is the gateleg table. I like the bath well enough.

[PickyPicky3]

@Oznell   Is this a primary residence or a vacation home?

[spiderw]

The exterior of the house is lovely, I adore porches, somewhere to relax and read a book!  The interior is cozy and comfortable looking, simple but welcoming and giving off a positive feeling.  I like the before kitchen, it is old fashioned but for me that works.  However, the make over is beautiful and does give an open space look with lots of room for kitchen needs.  The ceiling look is very attractive.  While I do like dining rooms you do need space especially if you have a dining set that seats more than four.  I do think the keeping room fits the house perfectly.  All  in all I like the details of the house and what has been done from before to after.  

[moonandthestars]

The kitchen is very nice!  I'd have to see the whole room at once, but offhand I think I wouldn't want that one wall painted green too.  I love the ceiling - a huge fan of that ceiling!  The bathroom is fine - would want the walls a different color tho - looks yellowish to me and if that's so I think they could do better   If I understand correctly, the dining room became the sitting room?  That room I think would benefit from some sort of moldings, wainscotting, trim, beadboard, shiplack, or planks on the wall (white painted would be fine).  It just could use some finishing and would up the charm, coziness, etc.  imo.

[781Florist]

I was all set to comment, and then I read @stevieb 's post and realized she had the exact same take on almost everything!

Someone else commented they preferred the old kitchen, and I think I agree with them.

The new one is very well done--for a house with a more contemporary slant.  I love the

ceiling treatment, and the chandelier and mirror are beautiful!  

The white table in the sitting room seems very out of character with the feeling that the rest of the room has.

[Danielle46]

Great job but bathroom is nothing exciting and absolutely too much green for my taste.

[Iwantcoffee]

I like the redo very much. One thing I do not care for is the white table and bamboo chairs in the sitting room. with the rest of the room.

Maybe a loveseat instead of those bamboo chairs?

[AuntG]

Colors and modifications are very nice. I like the idea from @Iwantcoffee to put a loveseat in the keeping room. Perhaps chairs were chosen to offer seating when dining.

[CANDLEQUEEN]

I love the green used in the After Kitchen photos! Very pretty....I also don't care for the stainless appliances in the after-maybe too modern??? Pretty bathroom as well. My sister in law has always put a small lamp in her kitchen on the counter-it seems to really give a more intimate cozy feel to the kitchen.....