This Mother’s Day, a lot of people will celebrate by giving Mom flowers or taking her out to brunch. But Nate Coombs, general manager of DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen’s Ogden, Utah, location, gave his mother an extra-special present earlier this year—a total kitchen renovation.
Coombs’ parents had been in their house for 25 years, and its original kitchen had become outdated and ill-suited to the needs of a growing extended family, he says. “As our family has grown, when we have get-togethers and dinners we were ending up eating in two different rooms. We couldn’t all be together.”
With that in mind, Coombs and his father, Steve (who owns the franchise), set out to create an open kitchen and dining area large enough to accommodate everyone during family gatherings. With the removal of the dining room wall, the kitchen, dining, and living areas are now connected to create a cohesive space.
In addition to increasing the visibility of family members, the remodel increased the visibility of the home’s natural surroundings by opening up sightlines to the outdoors. Coombs relocated the plumbing to the opposite side of the room, where a new large window over the sink overlooks the family’s spacious backyard, an item that had been on his mother’s wish list. “They live on a nice hill that overlooks the valley … and she wanted to be able to really look out and see the valley and take advantage of that good view,” he says.
Coombs and his father also brightened the kitchen with fresh gray paint and by replacing the old, dark materials with new, lighter finishes like white shaker cabinets, marble-look quartz countertops, and a white subway tile backsplash. A combination of traditional cabinetry, including floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets flanking the refrigerator, and rustic open shelving provides ample storage.
At the center of the kitchen is a large island, about 10 feet long by 4 feet wide, that serves as the focal point for family gatherings, Coombs says. Other special features add character to the space, including a solid alder Dutch door to let in the breeze and a 6-foot-tall, 7-foot-wide barn door that can separate the kitchen from the living area when more privacy is desired.
What was the reaction from Mom? “She was ecstatic,” Coombs says. “She loves that it allows our entire family, when we get together with all 30 people, to be able to be in one room and converse and enjoy our time together. The family loves that as well.” Sounds like the Coombs family has the perfect spot to celebrate this Mother’s Day.
