The biggest challenge in any remodeling project, be it a kitchen or bathroom or any project in the home is the unknown. The unknown can cover a lot of things…the cost, what you find behind the walls or underneath a floor, what it will look like. However, the unknown can be overcome. The proper combination of collaboration and communication cannot only create a successful partnership but more importantly, a successful remodeling project.
For Akram Aljahmi, Designer and Key Business Manager for Reico Kitchen & Bath in Woodbridge, VA this kitchen remodeling project faced such an opportunity. The unknown was present from the start, largely in the form of an existing wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Collaboration and communication creates trust, and to move forward on the project there would need to be that trust between designer and client. And while tearing up a wall in a home is a disruptive process that often renders the middle portion or level of home useless for a brief period of time, the trust and collaborative vision created can offer a light at the end of the remodeling tunnel for what the entire space can be. 
So the wall came down. According to the client, “The best suggestion from our Reico salesperson was to take down the wall between the kitchen and dining room. We love the openness of the kitchen into the dining room. We are enjoying every aspect of the space.” Let that last part soak in...every aspect of the space.
Collaboration. Agreeing to take down the wall was just the start. The sharing of ideas and communicating to help the client find what they want and enjoy “every aspect of the space”. For Akram, an involved client is essential to that happening. “It was refreshing to offer up a design suggestion and have the client run with it and go so far as to make it her own,” said Akram. “Bringing her ideas to the table and being able to incorporate them into a functional kitchen personalize for her family definitely made if fell like a team effort.” This included communication over the finest details, including the proper placement of cabinets. Anyone who replaces a dark, hard to access blind corner base cabinet with a rotating shelf lazy susan cabinet can appreciate the change in function and ease of access, or as the client said best “because I can easily reach the items without getting on my knees.”
The kitchen features kitchen cabinets by Green Forest in the Park Place door style, and features a Summit Grey finish. The kitchen countertop is Cambria engineered quartz in the color Bellingham. The space is complimented by a White Subway tile throughout the kitchen, with a special accent in the buffet area that features a Melange Gray Cloud Mosaic with Mother of Pearl and Stainless. For more pictures of the kitchen and buffet to allow you to enjoy the entire space, view the project at https://www.reico.com/projectgallery/410620
