This Townhome’s Kitchen Is Small, but Packs in Lots of Smart Storage Solutions

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Home Type
Bedrooms
Square feet
1620
Sq ft
1620
Dining room with long table with stripe runner, large flower painting, wood wall shelves with glasses, barware, art objects, sputnik style pendant light
The view looking into our dining room from the kitchen.

Jenny Fischer and her husband have owned this townhome for five years. They share it with their 1-year-old daughter and their dog, Jackson.

There was a built-in fireplace/mantel, without an actual fireplace, which we removed to fit in a large sectional.

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there. My husband and I bought the home in 2018, knowing we were going to renovate and live through the construction. It was the perfect location with a huge yard, but very outdated inside. The house was originally built in 1912 and still had the original hardwood floors and old character we fell in love with!

My husband is a contractor and I am a designer and very slowly over the years we have renovated and designed each room. We hired plumbers and electricians, but the rest we did on our own. From demo, framing, drywall, installing tile, installing hardwood floors, painting, knocking down walls and building out closets, we’ve done it all!

We added a feature wall using wood trim. There used to be a closet door where the mirror is that we closed up and added access to the closet from the hallway.

I love color and floral artwork. I don’t own a single plant inside the home, so I like to showcase flowers in the artwork on the walls. I don’t tend to accessorize a lot. I like to live a tchotchke-free life. With our house being on the small side with very little closet space, there isn’t a ton of room to have a lot of extra things. I like to decorate with functional items, but still make the home feel cozy and warm.

The very first renovation project we did was the upstairs bathroom.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or fewer: Colorful with very old character.

We opened up the wall between the kitchen and dining.

What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room is the kitchen. This was the biggest renovation we DIY’d and the one I am most proud of. It took a long time to complete, but I am still in awe of what we were able to accomplish on our own. By knocking the wall down between the dining and kitchen, we were able to gain an island with prep space and a lot more storage. Even though our kitchen is small, it packs in a lot of smart storage solutions! We took the cabinets all the way up to the ceiling and added hidden drawers inside the drawers and made sure everything has a place. The new kitchen has made a huge impact on how we live our lives day-to-day.

We started to expose the brick going up the stairs, but it's an extremely messy process. So we left it exposed just around the mirror and cabinet.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing we bought was the mirror over the foyer console table from Lamps Plus. We started renovating and designing all of the rooms in the house and left the foyer for last! Which seems silly, as it’s the first room you see when you enter the home. Once we bought the mirror, we were finally able to complete the space.

Any advice for creating a home you love? It takes a lot of time and patience to create a space you love. It won’t happen all at once. It may take years to complete.

We added a second bathroom in the basement

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

Share your style: House Tour & House Call Submission Form