The kitchen is the epicenter of household activities. This can prove problematic in older homes with less user-friendly kitchen space, especially if the owner doesn't want to increase the house's overall footprint.

The owner of this month's featured Seattle kitchen had one hard-and-fast requirement: a remodel that would enable three people to cook at the same time. The original kitchen was small, had a low ceiling and would only allow one person to cook at a time. The owner hosted frequent family get-togethers and wanted a space that allowed many cooks in the kitchen. The objective here was to increase useable floor space while maintaining the home's exterior shape and size.

Additionally, the owner wanted an easy-to-maintain kitchen with clean lines and the latest appliances. What to do?

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The primary aim of this kitchen remodel was increasing the size and usability of the kitchen. For the Seattle project, Master Builders Association member Shirey Contracting first increased the space of the kitchen not by going out, but by going up. By raising the roof and eliminating the low ceiling, the kitchen acquired openness and air, allowing for more headroom and upper-cabinet storage.

Another benefit of raising the roof in the kitchen was the increased aesthetic value. By giving the kitchen a greater presence, the home earned more curb appeal. (For reference, the window over the sink stayed in the same space as before the remodel.)

Next, the company increased the footprint of the kitchen while maintaining the existing footprint of the house. To do so, Shirey removed two pre-existing walls: one between the kitchen and an adjacent hallway and another between the kitchen and the dining room.

By removing these walls and opening the kitchen to the rest of the house (left), the owner gained greater floor space and visual access to other rooms. This further contributed to an overall sense of a large, open kitchen. Shirey Contracting also expanded the dining area to the left of the kitchen by slightly bumping out the dining room's exterior wall.

Other features included an Asian-influenced arch over the entryway to the kitchen, low-maintenance and easy-to-clean finishes and modern appliances. The result is a kitchen within the existing footprint of the home that allows for greater and more efficient use.

Thanks to Shirey Contracting for contributing their ideas and information on behalf of the Master Builders Association. For more information on the MBA, go to www.masterbuildersinfo.com.