Remodeling breathes new life into 1950s ranch home

Beth Kweton's Libertyville kitchen, resplendent with light granite and lots of white cabinets, easily convinces visitors the designer knows her way around a small 1950s ranch. After all, she created this beauty from a lonely dead-end room cut off from the rest of the house and broken up by no fewer than four doors.

After remodeling, the room is open to guests in the adjacent dining room who want to lean on a spacious countertop and help prepare dinner or just chat. She even has a pantry in the kitchen that is just under 10-by-12 feet, an example of the storage she says is even more important in a small space.

On second thought, other rooms in Kweton's home reveal ideas for homeowners bent on turning their modest ranches into comfortable showplaces.

Kweton, senior designer with Sweet Peas Design in Libertyville and Chicago, is an empty-nester who took on the kitchen as part of updating the 1,200-square-foot home she has owned and loved for 25 years — a job she did with the help Meredith Carlson of Designing Kitchens Etc. in Libertyville and contractor Art Tutka of Des Plaines.

“It was never any more than a one-person kitchen,” she said. “It was isolating and not fun to cook. There was no counter space. I remember the last time I cooked Thanksgiving. It was a nightmare.”

Here are tips for achieving the Kweton look in a classic ranch:

• Texture. Designers always say mix textures and colors, but this home demonstrates how to do this subtly. Much is smooth like the dove gray glass tiles on the kitchen walls, but even the shiny White Galaxy granite counters present just the right amount of gray “motion” for the small space with “fossils” here and there to create depth. The window shade in the kitchen shows embroidered “fireworks.” And in the L-shaped living and dining room, the dining table's ebony-stained wood top contrasts with the light faux-stone base.

• Put something just a little different on each wall. In the kitchen Kweton's focal point is a corner wall cabinet with open shelves.

• White. The palate is neutral, and the cabinets bring a lot of white to the kitchen. “I love white. It's fresh and clean, and food looks better.”

• Details. The designer chose modern-looking balls and bars for her kitchen cabinet hardware. She liked this pattern because it is available in many sizes — even as large as towel racks. While the refrigerator and range are stainless steel, the size of the kitchen led her to choose a cabinet front for the dishwasher.

• Large accessories. Use large accessories like the woody-looking ball on her dining room table.

“You don't see small things,” she said. “Now I have fewer things, but bigger.”

• Don't toss your furniture, redo it. The dining room chairs might be 40 years old, but their great curlicue bamboo design makes a statement, and Kweton updated them with cushions in a chocolate zebra design.

“I could never get rid of them,” she said. “They have a lot of character.” Most of the furniture in the living room is reupholstered and updated with touches like nail heads here and flanges (a type of seam) there.

Nancy Schnell of Arlington Heights used secret faux finishing techniques to repaint the sideboard, and Kweton loves the contrast between its simple lines and the old mirror with elaborate vining leaves and carving hanging above it.

• Rules. “Every room needs a tall piece.” The living room features an old armoire bought years ago to house a large television. Now the off-white cabinet stores china and has open shelves on each side for display.

• Transparency. The glass-topped coffee table allows a view of the “sweet” cheetah-design rug that started the decor in living room area. “Glass really works here, especially with the weight of the dining room table,” said Kweton.

• Keep your eyes open wherever you go. Kweton did not plan to buy anything at Restoration Hardware, but saw floor lamps featuring large glass tubes she really liked. She told the salesperson she preferred oil-rubbed bronze. It turned out the store had the 6-foot tall lamp with that finish on its metal pieces — for half price. Kweton bought a pair to flank her couch.

“I love the big scale,” she said. “They are really dramatic. People talk about these more than anything.”

• Update architectural details. Kweton replaced the ceiling lights (including a large fluorescent in the kitchen) with recessed lights, installed crown molding and then eventually decided to replace the hallway's multiple plain, flush doors with paneled ones. “Sometimes I stand in the hallway and just look at the doors,” she said.

• Throw in a surprise or two. The shades on the white porcelain chandelier from Barbara Cosgrove can be any Benjamin Moore color. Kweton owns a few sets, but prefers the translucent silver. Special hangers allowed her to put bird prints on the post between the dining room windows while keeping the working blinds. Her twig tree is lighted with LED, adding an organic touch along with sparkle.

• Nitty-gritty. Remodeling a small kitchen probably will cost between $40,000 to $60,000, said the designer, including semi-custom cabinets, important in a small space “for everything to work and fit how you work in the kitchen.” Her paint shades are Benjamin Moore: Ashen Tan in the kitchen and Davenport Tan in the living/dining room.