Condo galley kitchen remodel in Washington, DC: white Shaker cabinets, a soffit rebuilt around a concrete beam and a turquoise retro fridge

What did the homeowner want?

The old kitchen was dark: gray painted cabinets with arched panel doors, a tall pantry cabinet at the entry, white appliances with a microwave on the counter, a marble-look tile floor and one drum light in the middle of the ceiling. Soffits ran above the wall cabinets, and louvered bifold doors closed the kitchen off from the hall.

The homeowner wanted a bright, clean kitchen in the same footprint. The plan: take the soffits down to make room for the new wall cabinets, trade the drum light for recessed lights, lay a new floor, and plan it all around appliances the homeowner already owned, including a turquoise retro-style refrigerator.

Before

After

How we designed it: the same galley, and one color

Our design team measured the kitchen, drew it in 3D and planned it with the homeowner. In a galley this size, the layout already worked, so the plan kept every wall and every main fixture where it was, and put the effort into the cabinets, the surfaces and the light.

The homeowner's turquoise retro fridge set the color story. Around it, everything stays quiet: white Shaker cabinets, light gray quartz, a soft ash-gray tile, a pale porcelain floor, and black for the pulls and the faucet. The turquoise is the one color in the room.

On the sink wall, white panels and a cabinet above frame the refrigerator. In the corner by the window, the homeowner asked for open shelves instead of another cabinet, so our crew built them from matching white cabinet panels. On the range wall, the tall pantry cabinet gave way to a longer counter with a bank of drawers.

The soffits: a concrete beam, and a smaller soffit

Before

Rebuilt

After

The plan took the old soffits down to gain height for the wall cabinets. At the start of demolition, our crew cut small test openings to see what was inside. The soffits along the two sides were clear. The one across the window end held a concrete beam running wall to wall, part of the building's structure.

In a condo building, structure like that stays where it is. So we built that soffit back smaller, tight around the beam, and wrapped it in new drywall. The wall cabinets on both sides were then measured to the new soffit, so each run ends cleanly against it.

White Shaker cabinets, light gray quartz and a stacked 5x5 backsplash

The cabinets are white Shaker with a thin frame, soft-close doors and drawers, and 36-inch wall cabinets over the counters. Top Knobs bar pulls in black carry the black of the faucet.

The counters are MSI quartz in a light gray with soft veining, with a standard edge. Our fabrication partners made and installed them, under our supervision.

The backsplash is Lungarno Melody, a 5 by 5-inch tile in a soft ash gray with a quiet pattern. It is set in a straight stack, not offset, so the grout lines run straight up and across, with platinum grout that blends into the tile.

At the sink, a LORDEAR 23-inch stainless undermount sink sits under the window with a Kraus Oletto pull-down faucet in matte black, and a Kraus WasteGuard disposal runs from a switch on the wall.

A new floor, over a new subfloor

When the old tile came up, there were two older floors under it. Both came out, and a new subfloor and a self-leveling layer went down, so the large tiles would sit flat.

The new floor is Decovita porcelain in Dolomite White, a satin-matte 24 by 48-inch tile laid lengthwise down the galley, so fewer joints cross the room and the narrow kitchen reads longer and calmer.

Light, outlets and a new kitchen door

The drum light in the middle of the ceiling came out. Three recessed lights on a dimmer now light the whole galley evenly. The outlets and switches were updated, the walls were patched and painted, and the kitchen door was replaced with a new door, painted to finish the room.

Building it, step by step

Cabinets

Fridge in

Remodeling in a DC condo building

A condo kitchen is built inside rules the building sets. Every building is different, so we read its rules before the first day. For this kitchen:

• Insurance first. Our certificate of insurance went to the building's management before work began.
• Loading dock and freight elevator. Deliveries and debris moved through the loading dock and the freight elevator, booked ahead.
• Building work hours. The crew worked within the building's set hours on weekdays and Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or holidays.
• Clean halls. The halls were protected, and debris left the building the same day.
• Water and gas. Water shut-offs are scheduled through the building with notice, and gas work is done by a licensed plumber.
• Structure stays. Concrete beams and columns belong to the building, so we design around them, like the soffit here.

Planning a condo bathroom too? How to plan a condo bathroom remodel →

What happened in what order: the DC condo galley, step by step

Every job sets its own schedule, and your contract gives you a written estimate for yours. How our process works →

1. Design: the kitchen measured and drawn in 3D; the cabinets, the quartz, the tile, the sink, the faucet and the pulls chosen around the homeowner's own appliances; the contract.
2. Final measurement and the building: the final measurement; our certificate of insurance to the building's management; the loading dock and the freight elevator booked.
3. Ordering: the cabinets, tile, sink, faucet, disposal and pulls ordered.
4. Demolition: test openings in the soffits; the old cabinets, counters, ceiling light and floors taken out; the halls protected.
5. Soffit and subfloor: the window-end soffit rebuilt smaller around the concrete beam and wrapped in drywall; a new subfloor and a self-leveling layer.
6. Rough-in and walls: plumbing work at the sink wall; boxes for three recessed lights, the dimmer, outlets and switches; the walls patched.
7. Floor: the 24 by 48-inch porcelain laid.
8. Base cabinets and quartz: the base cabinets set; the quartz measured on them, then installed with the undermount sink.
9. Wall cabinets: measured to the new soffit and hung; the panels and the cabinet around the refrigerator; the open corner shelves.
10. Backsplash: the 5 by 5-inch tile set in a straight stack with platinum grout.
11. Last: the faucet, the disposal, the pulls, the lights and trim; the new kitchen door; paint; the homeowner's appliances checked and set in place.

Who built it: our design team planned the kitchen with the homeowner, and our crew built it. Only the quartz countertops came from our fabrication partners, under our supervision.

Budget: about $30K–$40K.

What came up during the design and build, and how we solved it

• A concrete beam inside the soffit. The soffit across the window end hid a concrete beam running wall to wall. The building's structure stays, so we rebuilt that soffit smaller around it, wrapped it in drywall and measured the wall cabinets to it.
• Two old floors under the tile. Both came out, and a new subfloor and a self-leveling layer went down so the large porcelain sits flat.
• Working inside a condo building. Insurance, the loading dock, the freight elevator and the building's work hours were all set up before the first day.
• Appliances the homeowner already owned. We checked each one before installation and built the cabinets around them, with panels and a cabinet above to frame the refrigerator.
• A corner by the window. Instead of another cabinet, open shelves made from matching white panels, as the homeowner asked.

Washington, DC condo kitchen materials: white Shaker, MSI quartz and Decovita porcelain

The exact products in this kitchen, from our order records. "Homeowner's choice" marks what the homeowner supplied.

More photos: the Washington, DC condo galley, start to finish