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" Location: Berkeley, CA      A single butcher-block table was the old kitchen&amp;#039;s only auxiliary work space.     Jeri and Tom Fraser lived in their two-bedroom Berkeley, California, bungalow for 10 years before tackling a kitchen remodel that was long overdue. By then, they had upgraded most of the house but had saved the kitchen for last, until they were ready with both the ideas and the resources required to overhaul this area. &amp;quot;We waited until we could afford to make the kind of changes we were certain our kitchen needed,&amp;quot; Jeri recalls. They knew that the secret to the success of any remodeling lay in its execution, so they chose their contractors with great care. Impressed with the track record and intelligence of Paul and Nina Winans of Winans Construction in Berkeley, the Frasers opted to collaborate with them on rearranging and updating their space. &amp;quot;What we learned confirmed what we already knew,&amp;quot; says Jeri. &amp;quot;Though price must be a major consideration when you remodel, it shouldn&amp;#039;t be the only one. You really have to set price aside if there are contractors and suppliers you have confidence in. That&amp;#039;s how we felt about Nina and Paul. Our new kitchen evolved directly from design discussions we had with them. They really listened, and we felt sure that we had chosen the right people to help with the update.&amp;quot;       Besides the new wall-mounted cabinet above one end, the two-sided peninsula contains storage cupboards and drawers as well as two refrigerated drawers (not visible). True to the house&amp;#039;s vintage design, linoleum from Marmoleum was unrolled directly over the old, worn wood floor.    The Frasers wanted a more functional kitchen with new appliances, more sophisticated lighting, more work space, and a cheerier environment. What they didn&amp;#039;t want was something that failed to mesh with the California-bungalow style of the rest of their house. Everything that happened in the Fraser kitchen was done with an eye to how it would relate to all the other rooms. The mostly white original kitchen had a couple of appliances of fairly recent vintage, but the bulk of the space had hardly been touched since the house was built back in the 1920s. The Frasers wanted warmth and efficiency without sacrifice. No new space was appropriated; no doors, walls, or windows were moved or replaced. The plumbing and appliances were rearranged, of course, but the overall footprint of the kitchen remained unchanged. The only significant revisions involved moving the refrigerator and redesigning the breakfast nook. The kitchen redesign placed the refrigerator-freezer on the wall opposite the new peninsula. The problem confronting the Frasers, however, was that an appliance with the capacity they wanted would have been too bulky and too deep, particularly after it had been faced with cabinet-style paneling. Their compromise was to select a relatively shallow refrigerator, one with freezer drawers below it. Then, they installed two separate, drawer-size refrigerator units in the peninsula, extremely handy to countertop work space. Even so, the wall behind the refrigerator and freezer drawers had to be notched out, so that the appliances would be flush with the adjacent cabinets and counters. All in all, it was a tight fit, but it worked. The custom cherry cabinets are stylish but simple, and they conceal every appliance but the range and vent hood.       The space once taken by an old range and refrigerator is now home to a new stainless-steel range.    &amp;quot;At first, our contractors wanted to eliminate the breakfast nook,&amp;quot; says Jeri, &amp;quot;but Tom and I always liked that room and felt that, having been part of the house&amp;#039;s original design, it should be retained.&amp;quot; So instead of absorbing it into the new kitchen plan-and creating a breakfast bar with stools, for example-the Winans made use of it not only for a breakfast table but also as bonus storage. They built in a bench beneath the window and created a place under lift-up seating to store various mops and brooms. Since the new kitchen had space for a pantry but no spot for a broom closet, this solution proved a great problem solver. The Frasers make good use of every inch of their new kitchen space and wouldn&amp;#039;t change a single element. What they would do differently, if they had to do it all over again, is put all their needs in writing. &amp;quot;We might not have had to return some pieces to the cabinetmaker if we&amp;#039;d written everything down,&amp;quot; Jeri explains. &amp;quot;Just because people nod their heads when you tell them something, doesn&amp;#039;t always mean they get it.&amp;quot;       Simple recessed-panel cabinets, some with glass fronts, complement the overall bungalow style of the house.    What the Frasers wanted, and finally got, included a ceiling-high unit with double doors hiding tray storage directly above a single door hiding a pantry. &amp;quot;Initially, the cabinetmakers gave us two pairs of pantry doors, which would have been rather clumsy,&amp;quot; says Jeri, &amp;quot;because we planned to have roll-out shelves.&amp;quot; The couple&amp;#039;s decision to install, instead, one two-panel door made the shelving completely accessible. Recessed-panel doors are in keeping with the 1920s style of the Frasers&amp;#039; house. The look is clean and unfussy, an accurate reflection of what the owners hoped for when they made the decision to remodel. &amp;quot;Trust your instincts,&amp;quot; Jeri advises, &amp;quot;and always stick to your guns.&amp;quot;  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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