Kitchen remodel in Ann Arbor, MI

What this Ann Arbor kitchen was working against

Plenty of houses on the west side of Ann Arbor share the same story: solid bones, good light, and a kitchen that has been patched instead of solved. This one had boxed soffits eating the wall above the cabinets, a floor built up out of old layers, and a heating vent sitting exactly where a wider doorway wanted to go. None of it was dangerous. All of it was in the way.

The homeowners were not chasing a bigger footprint. They wanted the footprint they had to work harder: more usable counter, storage that held what they actually own, a range that vents outside instead of recirculating, and a floor that would not telegraph every seam underneath it. That is a scope you can price honestly, so it went through our design-build proposal line by line before anyone picked up a hammer.

One more thing shaped the plan. The cabinets came from the homeowners’ own supplier, a route we support and one that puts every fraction of an inch on us. Boxes you did not order still have to land level, plumb and tight to a ceiling that was never flat, which is why our cabinet work gets measured twice.

What we built into this kitchen remodel in Ann Arbor

Demolition went past the finishes. Layers of old flooring came out and a new subfloor went down, the unglamorous decision that keeps a tile line straight and a cabinet run from rocking two years later. Drywall was patched where the old soffit framing had been, and the ceiling and walls took two coats before a single cabinet box went up.

The soffits were the puzzle. Rather than leave them boxed and clumsy, the crew reframed them, including an angled return inside the upper cabinet line, so the uppers could run to the height the homeowners wanted with blocking set behind them for crown. The corner cabinet was cut to fit on site, then toe kicks, skins and casing followed.

Then the surfaces. White quartz with soft grey veining wraps the counter run and the peninsula, and a butcher block top went into the pantry with two coats of polyurethane over it. Cream tile carries most of the room, and a glossy navy herringbone panel climbs the range wall under the hood. Every bit of that backsplash tile was laid out with the homeowners before it was set.

Mechanical work ran alongside the finishes. A new circuit was pulled for the range, the ceiling junction box moved into line with the can lights and the center of the peninsula so the pendants hang where they should, and the hood got real ductwork to the outside. Wood-look plank kitchen flooring went down over the new subfloor with nosings and transitions at every doorway.

How the finished kitchen works now

The room reads as one piece. Wood cabinets run from the refrigerator wall around to the peninsula, black appliances and brass hardware hold the middle, and the navy herringbone gives the range wall something to be about. Clear globe pendants hang over the peninsula on a brass rail, lined up with the can lights. Nothing shouts.

Function changed more than the palette did. Counter space grew where the prep actually happens, the farmhouse sink sits under the picture window, and the dishwasher tucks beside it instead of blocking the walk-through. The old closet is now a walk-in pantry behind double doors, with butcher block shelves that hold small appliances rather than hiding them in a cabinet nobody can reach.

Why the vent hood was the fussiest part of the job

A hood that vents outside is worth the trouble, and it is trouble. The liner and motor went in, came back out, and went in again to get the fit right, and a section of finished tile behind it had to come off so the ductwork could run clean. Grease, steam and cooking smells now leave the house instead of settling on the cabinet doors. Our appliance installation gets this right before the tile closes up around it.

What a kitchen this size runs in Washtenaw County

At about $55,200 for 180 square feet, this job sat where a full gut lands when the cabinets come from the owner and the walls stay put. Move a wall or add custom cabinetry and the number climbs. Our breakdown of what a kitchen remodel costs in Ann Arbor walks through the line items, and we quote every job across Washtenaw County the same way.

Small kitchens are the honest test. There is nowhere to hide a lazy layout, and every inch you win comes from planning rather than square footage. This one gave back counter, storage and a hood that works, inside the walls the house already had. That is the kind of Ann Arbor kitchen remodeling we like best.

Thinking about your own kitchen? Book a free consultation, look through more finished work in our portfolio, or tell us about your project and we will price it the way we priced this one.