Ellen Neufeld’s home in Centennial, a quintessential suburb in the southern Denver metro area, needed a tune-up. The plan was to expand the kitchen and living room and add a mud room, all done as quickly as possible so the Neufeld household could return to living the suburban dream. But plans don’t always come together as intended, and despite the best efforts of those involved, the remodel took over a year to complete.
Ellen doesn’t blame the contractor, Davidson Builders, who were chosen after extensive online research. Rather, she chalks the protracted duration of the project up to things simply not running smoothly. It’s an unfortunate reality for these types of projects, one that many homeowners will find themselves suffering through.
Despite this, the end result is something Ellen describes as “fabulous,” and she’s not wrong about that.
Ellen loves to cook, and the kitchen is the beating heart of the Neufeld home. It’s a place where family and friends come together, united by her culinary zeal. She wanted more space to entertain and cook, in order to make that magic happen, Ellen went with an impressive line of Dacor appliances.
Most importantly, for a house where the culinary is king, the tools for creating sumptuous meals must be in place. To that end, the new kitchen now includes a six-burner gas range. Ultra-wide continuous grates allow pots to be easily moved across the eye-catching brass burners capable of incredibly precise heat outputs ranging from just 750 BTUs up to 22,000.
The Dacor double wall oven is equally remarkable, offering powerful convection and steam roasting capabilities. The double oven allows for two dishes to be prepared separately at the same time, and the inclusion of the steam assist ensures that baked goods turn out moist and delicious. The oven’s seven-inch screen features intuitive controls, and can even offer expert chef advice such as rack settings, ideal temperature and cook time.
In order to hold all of the bountiful meals and keep their ingredients fresh, the kitchen remodel included a Dacor 36-inch column refrigerator and accompanying 30-inch freezer. The freezer and refrigerator are vividly lit with expansive LED lights in the interior and have been designed to discreetly blend in with the surrounding cabinetry. Hidden touch panels offer digital temperature displays, and a Wi-Fi-enabled camera in the refrigerator allows users to remotely check on its contents while, say, shopping at the grocery store. The freezer’s dual icemakers create standard and cocktail ice — larger chunks meant to last longer in mixed drinks.
Rounding out the set of Dacor appliances, the in-drawer microwave is installed flush with the surrounding cabinets. The push-to-open drawer means there’s no need for a handle jutting out and disrupting the seamless feel of the sleek installation. Beyond looking sharp, the microwave comes equipped with a bevy of features, including a smart moisture sensor that can automatically adjust cook time and power levels based on internal humidity.
It’s a space that means business, capable of meeting whatever culinary demands Ellen might have of it, and to clean it all up she also decided to include not just one, but two dishwashers installed in the new kitchen island.
Ellen says she loves the new space and its boundless possibilities. “We cook at home all the time,” she says. “Now we have much more room.”
While the process may not have gone as smoothly as she would have liked, it’s hard to argue with the results, and Ellen looks forward to many years of cooking meals in the space she loves.
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