A French-inspired kitchen renovation cooks up some fun

With three teenage kids and two dogs, Kris and Jeff Westall have a lot of activity in their Edina, Minn., home. But their kitchen wasn't keeping up.

"It was so ugly, and there was no place to sit," said Kris. The Westalls, who had lived in the 1964-built rambler since 1996, had outgrown a minor kitchen-remodeling they'd done years earlier. Kris was eager to make the space more appealing and up-to-date.

She wanted a complete overhaul someday, but for starters, she thought she'd just warm up the plain-vanilla kitchen with new paint colors and accessories. "I wanted it cozy and warm," Kris said. "I am not a winter person, so that was a big deal to me."

But she realized that warm-colored walls would still leave the kitchen with stark-white cupboards and countertops. "Then, I thought new cabinets would be nice," she said.

The kids urged their parents to renovate the entire kitchen now rather than later, so they could enjoy it while all were still living at home. "They said, 'You're not going to fix it after we go to college,' " Kris said.

So the couple agreed to a total makeover, with the goal of making their kitchen more functional and family-friendly. To help with the project, Kris enlisted designer Sue Hunter of Home for a Change. "She had worked with a friend of mine, and I had been hearing about Sue forever," Kris said.

Kris was leaning toward an Italian-style makeover. "Tuscany was my muse," she said, but Hunter nudged her toward a lighter French look. "I was trying to pull her away from wine colors," Hunter said.

And Kris ultimately agreed. "It's the dark side of the house, and we knew we needed light."

But that didn't mean Kris had to abandon her dream of warm, rustic colors. Copper is the dominant accent hue; the light-painted cabinets were antiqued with copper glaze and finished with copper-finish hardware, and a ceiling medallion was painted copper.

The long, narrow kitchen (about 11 by 23 feet) posed several challenges. To make the most of the space visually, Hunter decided to cover the appliances with wood panels to match the cabinets. "It gives it a consistent look, which helps it look bigger," she said.

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A French-inspired kitchen renovation cooks up some fun