Kitchen Remodeling in Columbia, MD

What’s typical in a Columbia kitchen remodel?

It depends on the kind of house. In a townhouse, it’s usually a full replacement within the same footprint: new cabinets, counters, backsplash, flooring and lighting, with appliances rearranged where the plumbing allows. In a detached house from the 1980s or ’90s, it’s more often a layout change, opening the kitchen to the family room or adding an island.

Census estimates put townhouses at about 25% of Columbia’s homes, so the compact kitchen is the one many Columbia owners are working with.

Townhouse galleys and compact L-shapes

Many 1970s and ’80s Columbia townhouses have a galley kitchen, two parallel runs of cabinets with a window or a doorway at one end, or a compact L with a small eating area. These rooms have no wasted space to give up, so the layout work is detailed:

• We measure the room to the quarter inch, including where walls are out of square
• Cabinet widths are chosen so filler strips are small and hidden
• The refrigerator, range and sink stay roughly where they are, keeping plumbing and gas changes simple
• Wall cabinets run to the ceiling where there’s no soffit, or the soffit comes out if it’s empty

We’ve built galley kitchens with white shaker cabinets and a gas range on one side, and L-shaped kitchens like our gray shaker kitchen, with light gray shaker cabinets, white quartz and a subway tile backsplash. In a compact kitchen, the lighter finishes and under-cabinet lights make the narrow room easier to work in.

Kitchens in Dorsey’s Search, River Hill and other later villages

Dorsey’s Search opened in 1980 and River Hill in 1990, and census estimates put about 43% of Columbia’s homes in those two decades. Detached houses from that period usually have a bigger kitchen with a breakfast area, sometimes separated from the family room by a wall or a half-wall. That wall is the usual candidate for a layout change.

Removing that wall is an interior alteration under a Howard County building permit. If the wall carries the floor above, the permit drawings show the new beam and its supports.

Vents, windows and village covenants

Columbia’s covenants focus on exterior alterations, so a kitchen remodel mostly stays a county permit matter. The exceptions are the parts that reach outside. A new range hood duct through the siding, a new or resized window over the sink, or a changed patio door can all count as exterior changes. We plan those details early so you can check with your village covenant advisor before cabinets are ordered.

Permits and inspections

Howard County takes building permit applications online through its Citizen Access portal. Electrical, plumbing and mechanical work each need trade permits, with rough-in inspections before the walls close. Countertops are templated after base cabinets are in, which adds a short wait we schedule around. In a townhouse row, we also keep cabinet boxes and debris off the shared walks and parking areas, and we can set up a temporary sink so you aren’t washing dishes in the bathtub for weeks.

Also see bathroom remodeling in Columbia and decks in Columbia, or our main kitchen remodeling page.