Our North Portland client came to us with a kitchen that had no rhythm. It lacked flow, storage, organization, and had out of place appliances that were too large for the kitchen’s footprint. She longed for a functional, bright, easy to use and easy to clean space that fit her personal style. With a tight budget, we needed to find ways to deliver a kitchen that felt custom to her needs without skimping on quality or longevity of materials. For cabinetry, we had to focus on what was available pre-made for sizing and style. While this made our choices limited to shaker in only a few colors, we were still able to create a unique kitchen, landing on maple cabinetry that we painted and stacked creatively to fit the unique sizing we needed for the upper units. We also tried to do as little demo as possible and made the new design work with all the kitchens quirks including 4x doorways and a split-level ceiling. We repaired the lath and plaster walls, matched the window & door millwork, restored the original spice cabinet, and maintained the beautifully imperfect wood floors that offer so much character and warmth. We also cleaned up and restored all her original vintage lighting that we convinced her to keep, complemented by new dimmable recessed lighting and a pendant sourced at Hippo Hardware for above the sink.