NOW: Kitchen remodel: Photo by Kim Leeson

NOW: Kitchen remodel: Photo by Kim Leeson

THEN

THEN

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Sara Vracar & Bobby Tanev Residence

Buckner & Hermosa

Built in: 1950

Remodeled in: Feb 2013-April 2013

The mission: Kitchen remodel

When Sara Vracar and Bobby Tanev bought their house on Buckner last year, they were excited to have enough lot space for horses. They weren’t, however, excited about how outdated the house was.

“Nothing was done,” Vracar says. “I’m not sure anything had been updated since the 70s. We’re still working on it. It’s a work in progress.”

The first project they tackled was the master bathroom. The original bathroom was tiny, and Vracar wasn’t having it.

They tried to save a little money by hiring an independent worker to turn the sunroom into the bathroom, but there were so many issues, they later regretted that decision.

“It’s pretty, but we’ve already had to have people come in and do more work,” Vracar says. “We should’ve hired somebody who knew what they were doing from the beginning.”

Luckily it was just the bathroom, but when it came time to remodel the kitchen, they decided not to make the same mistake twice, especially since they weren’t entirely sure what they wanted.

“The kitchen was the space we really wanted to concentrate on,” Vracar explains, leaning against the kitchen counter. “This is where most people are going to be spending time when we’re entertaining.”

They knew they wanted to knock out the wall between the kitchen and the living room, to open up the space, and Vracar knew she wanted a combination of dark and light material. Other than that, she really hadn’t considered the layout.

They hired Kitchen Design Concepts, which helped them nail down a design that was both aesthetic and functional.

“I needed help with the functional part,” Vracar says. “I had no idea what I wanted where. So that was helpful, and now that I’ve been using it for months, everything seems to flow perfectly. Things I never thought of.”

After knocking out the walls between the kitchen and the living room, they had room to add an extra large island. They used a white polished caesarstone for the topper on the island over Ultracraft cabinets with a cocoa finish.

The caesarstone is practically impossible to stain, which Vracar and Tanev have already tested.

They used Breckenridge door style cabinets throughout, but the cabinets for the kitchen counters were painted with an arctic white finish, which contrast nicely with the dark verde minus soapstone they chose for the countertops.

“We’ve been really pleased,” Vracar says. 

Know of a home we should feature? Email launch@advocatemag.com.

See more photos by Kim Leeson below: