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"VIEW MORE PHOTOS   It was the charm of the neighborhood in Orinda, California, that first got to Patty and Rob Anderson when they left San Francisco to find a home in a nearby suburb. They decided on a 1950s ranch with a yard that seemed ideal for their 7-year-old son, Caidan, and 5-year-old daughter, Emery. But this fixer-upper required some work before they could move in\u2014namely the dark 100-square-foot kitchen. &amp;quot;You could call it a postage stamp\u2013size kitchen,&amp;quot; says Patty. It was separated from the living room, felt cramped and had low ceilings. &amp;quot;We wanted to open it up with room to entertain,&amp;quot; she says. After doing research and clipping pictures from magazines, the couple hired kitchen designer Victoria Reginato, of Danville, California, to help them reach their goals. &amp;quot;The kitchen was very chopped up,&amp;quot; says Reginato. &amp;quot;We wanted to create a more open space in line with the look Patty had in mind\u2014to make this ranch kitchen as traditional as possible.&amp;quot; First on the agenda: open up the space. Thus, the wall between laundry room and kitchen was demolished; a contiguous hallway was eliminated and incorporated into the space; and the doorway from the kitchen to the living room was enlarged. An adjoining porch was also folded into the new plan, and French doors from porch to living room were removed allowing all three spaces to flow together. These changes brought much-needed natural light into the kitchen. Then white painted maple cabinets with a factory finish were added that feature frameless doors with antique bronze pulls and knobs. Some of the cabinets are open or have glass fronts so Patty can display her dishware, and are topped with crown molding. The perimeter cabinets inspired the look of the 7 1/2-foot-long custom center island that includes storage drawers for pots and pans, cabinets for stemware and the same gold granite used throughout. &amp;quot;Granite is a good choice because it&amp;#039;s bullet proof,&amp;quot; says Reginato. &amp;quot;Lots of people like marble or limestone\u2014I do, too\u2014but granite is a great choice when you have kids.&amp;quot; Since Patty loves to cook, appliances were crucial. She choose a pro-style six-burner range that includes a custom mantel hood with corbels and a stainless steel French-door refrigerator. &amp;quot;French-door fridges are a big advantage in a smaller kitchen, because you don&amp;#039;t have a big door that swings open and takes up too much room,&amp;quot; Reginato says. To finish the space, a random-width oak floor and a rich golden wheat color on the walls add warmth to the now 200-square-foot kitchen. &amp;quot;The way it was closed off before didn&amp;#039;t take advantage of the light,&amp;quot; says Patty. &amp;quot;And for modern families like ours, it&amp;#039;s nice to have it open so I can watch my kids in the backyard or living room.&amp;quot;      BEFORE  The kitchen was small, dark and cut off from the nearby living room. Fortunately, there were adjacent spaces\u00AD that could be used to expand the kitchen&amp;#039;s footprint.         AFTER By eliminating the laundry room and hallway, the kitchen grew by 100 square feet, doubling the space. This made for a more cohesive plan that includes more counters and storage, a large island and a dining table.    WHAT WAS DONE:  Demolished the adjacent laundry room and a dividing wall Increased square footage by removing closets behind the stove wall Opened up the doorway from the kitchen to the living room to create better traffic flow Added a vaulted ceiling and white subway-tile backsplash, which make the kitchen feel more spacious Minimized a beam that hangs between the kitchen and breakfast area  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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