Kitchen Remodeling in Lutherville-Timonium, MD

Why do post-war kitchens feel so cramped?

They were planned for a different household. A kitchen in a 1950s or ’60s Lutherville or Timonium house was often closed off from the dining room, with a short counter, an outlet or two per wall and space for a narrower refrigerator than most people buy now. With nearly half of Lutherville’s houses built in that one decade, a large share of kitchens here started from that same pattern.

The fix depends on what you want and what the house allows. Some owners keep the footprint and win back storage and counter space with a smarter cabinet plan. Others want the kitchen opened toward the dining or family room.

What we check before opening a kitchen wall

First, what the wall is holding up. A wall that carries floor or roof loads can usually still come out, but it needs a beam sized for the span and posts that carry the load down to the foundation. In Baltimore County that’s a structural modification, which means an alteration permit and construction plans.

A non-bearing partition is simpler. It can still hide a plumbing vent, ductwork or wiring that has to be rerouted, and we find that out before quoting.

Circuits for a modern kitchen

Today’s kitchens run a dishwasher, disposal, microwave, range hood and a row of countertop appliances, and many of those want their own circuits. Every new circuit needs a county electrical permit taken out by a registered electrical contractor. The county won’t make you replace an older service simply because you remodel. Still, the new load may make a panel upgrade the sensible move, and it’s far easier to decide that before the walls are closed.

Lighting deserves the same planning. An original kitchen often has one ceiling fixture and little else. Recessed cans, under-cabinet strips and a pendant over the sink change how the room works at night, and all of it is permitted electrical work that we lay out with the cabinet plan.

Kitchens in Old Lutherville and Mays Chapel

Inside an Old Lutherville home, the kitchen is yours to change. The Landmarks Preservation Commission looks only at exterior work. A new window over the sink, a back door onto a patio or a hood vent through the wall would alter the exterior, though, and would need the commission’s approval along with a permit. The county’s historic tax credit won’t help with the kitchen itself, since new kitchens, cabinets and appliances are excluded.

West of I-83, Mays Chapel was built in the 1970s, so original kitchens there are now around 50 years old.

Cabinets and counters we install

We install shaker and high-gloss cabinets, two-tone layouts with white uppers and dark lowers, quartz, granite and butcher-block counters, subway or slab backsplashes, and LVP or tile flooring. Cabinet layout gets marked and leveled on the wall before the first box goes up.

For the rest of the house, see bathroom remodeling in Lutherville-Timonium and our flooring page. The main kitchen remodeling page explains how a kitchen job runs.