Kitchen design studio · Solon, Ohio
Paula Kinney plans kitchens, laundry rooms and lower levels for homeowners across Greater Cleveland and Akron, and online for clients anywhere. The plan is where the money is saved.
Where it goes wrong
A remodel goes wrong on paper long before it goes wrong on site. A run of cabinets that misses a clearance. An island that stops a dishwasher door opening. A soffit nobody thought to question. Those are cheap decisions while they are still lines, and expensive ones once they are screwed to a wall.
So the drawing comes first. Every clearance, every pull-out, every appliance swing, checked against how you actually use the room. Your contractor builds what the plan says. The plan is the part worth arguing about.
Four rooms, four problems
These are her four written case studies, titled the way she titled them. Scroll sideways through the rooms.
Problem: kitchen too big
Six years old and it still felt disjointed, with the children marooned at the far end doing homework. Part of the walk-in pantry came out to make room for a prep island with seating, a second island took the wine fridge for entertaining, and the range hood got the architectural detail it never had.
Problem: tiny laundry room
A cramped laundry room was also standing in as a mudroom for two active boys and their dad. The home office next door became the new laundry, the old laundry became a real mudroom, and the office moved into a formal living room nobody was sitting in.
Problem: nowhere for the family
Half finished and quietly filling up with surplus pantry items, exercise equipment and toys. It came back as a kitchenette wet bar with a space saving floating bar for seating, a dedicated exercise area, real pantry storage, and room for a sectional big enough for movie night.
Problem: small and dated
The soffits came out so the room could breathe, and an opening into the living room picked up counter height seating and a better flow between the two. A banquette made the eating area work. The backsplash tile was laid vertically on purpose, to keep pulling the eye up to the taller wall cabinets.
What she does
All of them start the same way, with a complimentary fifteen minute call about the room that is bothering you.
In home across Greater Cleveland
The full drawing: layout, clearances, cabinetry, appliances, lighting and the finish selections that go with them. You get a plan your contractor can build from and a materials list you can price.
Kitchen design details
Distance is not the problem
It was a surprise Christmas present. The client sent measurements and photographs from another state, and got back a plan, a materials list and a room her husband did not know was coming. Remote design is a real service line here, not a consolation prize for people who live too far away.
The studio, measured
Paula started designing in 2002, after a friend handed her a three and a half thousand square foot house and asked her to plan the whole thing. She learned the trade floor at Northeast Factory Direct, then opened the studio under her own name. The Plain Dealer profiled her in 2017.
2002
Designing since
4
Ways to work together
15 min
Discovery call
2017
Plain Dealer profile
How it runs
The discovery call is fifteen minutes and free. If it is a fit, an in home or virtual consultation gets you preliminary options for the space and how it should flow into the rooms around it. Then the plan gets drawn, the selections get made, and your contractor gets something to build from.
In their words
Written accounts from her own clients, kept in their own words. Three of them are about kitchens. The fourth is about an office in another state.
Paula has an amazing sense of style and design. Her vision allowed us to transform our very outdated kitchen into a beautiful, modern and functional space! Her great ideas and efforts helped us stay within our budget and we truly love the results-thank you!!
We had no idea where to start or how to get it done and Paula made the process so easy! Would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for help and ideas in completing their projects. Great Job and Thank you Paula!
Ms. Paula did an amazing job redesigning my kitchen. She is a pleasure to work with and has a wonderful personality. I wanted my small kitchen to feel bigger and Ms. Paula was able to deliver just that. Now I have an updated, beautiful kitchen with storage and space. Couldn't be more pleased. Thanks Ms. Paula.
I hired Love Your Nest Kitchen Design to do a home office makeover as a surprise Christmas gift to my husband. Paula did a phenomenal job. And she did the planning from a distance. I live in Delaware and she is based in Ohio. The remote process was seamless. Paula was a joy to work with. She was part designer and part home organizer by helping me get all our paperwork under control and designing the new office that is modern and chic. My husband LOVED his gift.
Before you call
Next step
Greater Cleveland and Akron, plus virtual design anywhere. The discovery call is fifteen minutes, it costs nothing, and it ends with a straight answer about what your room actually needs.
Prefer to talk now? (800) 248-1173 or paula@loveyournest.co