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Renovation Transforms Dated Kitchen Into a Beautiful Space

Local Interior Designer Dena Thomas Helped Turn the Dark Room into One that is Bright and Welcoming

Thanks to the hard work and expert advice from Chandler Interior Designer Dena Thomas, a local family is enjoying their newly renovated and modern-looking kitchen and breakfast nook.

Dena, who is the founder of Dena Thomas Designs, was approached by the Chandler homeowners who wanted to remodel their entire home, beginning with the kitchen and breakfast nook.

“The kitchen was dated and dark,” she says, adding that she and her team will continue to update the rest of the single-family home, one room at a time.

After consulting with the homeowners and learning that they wanted a crisp palette of colors in a farmhouse style for their kitchen and nook area, Dena suggested tweaking it to a more modern look, rather than going for something trendy.

Dena and her team began renovating the kitchen and breakfast nook spaces. She chose a combination of grays, whites and blues for the color scheme; for example, using Sherwin Williams’ “Agreeable Gray” color on the walls.

“In the kitchen, we painted the existing surrounding cabinets, demoed the island and gave them two new beautiful 10-foot islands with plenty of storage,” she says. “We painted the surround cabinets in ‘Pure White’ color and highlighted with a black glaze to match the doors and baseboards to give the kitchen a fresh and bright new look.”

The new kitchen islands were also painted.

“We painted them a stone color and highlighted with a black glaze, which is the same glaze we used on the surround cabinets,” Thomas says. “We added black hardware and black light fixtures and accessories to help the black finish stand out. This created the modern look that I chose for them and the farmhouse look that they wanted originally without overdoing it.”

To make the islands as user-friendly as possible for the busy family, they also feature two small refrigerators.

“I had suggested that we add a beverage center, since my clients have small kids and love to entertain and have sporting events at their home, as well as a wine refrigerator for the adults. This was the perfect combination for these two mega islands,” Dena says.

She also chose new modern farmhouse sinks and faucets, quartzite counters, new appliances, drapes, light fixtures and accessories.

To help give the once-dark kitchen lots of light, Dena added recessed lighting to the ceiling, and then installed pendant lights and strategically placed chandeliers over the islands.

The kitchen also features a beautiful new backsplash from Arizona Tile made from porcelain tile; Dena and the homeowners selected the Castle Brick/Grey style and color.

In the nook, a circular table offers plenty of seating for the family, while floor-to-ceiling drapes add a stylish look, as does a modern farmhouse light fixture hanging over the center of the table.

After working on the spaces for two months, Dena showed the finished rooms to the homeowners.

“They are over the moon with it,” she says.

Dena says those positive and happy moments makes all of her hard work worthwhile.

“I love watching my clients beam up when they see the final product,” she says. “I have been an interior designer for over 24 years and love every day. I can honestly say that I look forward to waking up in the morning knowing that my day is packed with my clients.”

To contact Dena, call 480.330.6072 or visit her Facebook page at Facebook.com/DenaThomasDesigns.