A Glorious Gilday Kitchen Renovation

I’ve been slowly digesting the October issue of Washingtonian, which contains a large section on dream kitchens. First, I love how every kitchen is so different from the other, and so beautiful in its own right. (And I was tickled that one of them, the “Thoroughly Modern” Capitol Hill project on p. 160, I had profiled for DC Urban Turf last year.)

But more importantly, I had already been collecting information on a gorgeous kitchen reno in DC when I saw one of the photos on p. 169, introducing a story on backsplashes. How appropriate!

All renovation photos by Greg Hadley

And here is a wider view of this amazing kitchen, built by Gilday Renovations in conjunction with architect Larysa Kurylas of Kurylas Studio in the context of a wider first-floor redo. Gilday’s Sarah Turner assisted in choosing “the color of our kitchen cabinets, marble counters, variegated gray glass tile, lighting fixtures, [and] appliances, which made my dream of a timeless gray kitchen become a beautiful reality,” owner Caroline Osborne writes.

“We love our kitchen — they way it functions, the way it feels. It is the hub of our busy family life and now our home is just right for us,” Osborne adds. If this were my kitchen, I would feel the same way.

Here’s a glimpse of how far this kitchen has come, with a “before” shot that itself was a renovation as recent as 2003:

It’s not clear what’s in the foreground here, but a “before” and “after” blueprint illustrate a massive reconfiguration, so the kitchen would take full advantage of all the space available:

“After living in the home for five years and trying to make some simple changes to the kitchen, we found that the lack of storage and a powerful gas range was getting on our nerves–okay my nerves; so we decided to renovate,” Osborne writes.

I especially love the cabinetry and storage, which beautifully hides — and displays — all the necessary functions of a busy kitchen.

Note how the backsplash continues along the ceiling above the windows here -- what a great detail.

And last, but certainly not least, I really admire the desk area Gilday and Kurylas provided in this space — I just KNOW I would keep better track of my kids’ school and sports activities if I had a lovely perch like this from which to organize our family schedule:

Wow, kitchen envy just doesn’t begin to describe it for me. Caroline — when and if we redo our little kitchen in Arlington (which is sadly lacking proper ventilation, so vent-hood envy is included here), I am definitely reaching out to you for more tips!

And just in case you haven’t had enough of this kitchen, here’s one parting shot — with a full view of that glorious vent hood.