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After: The homeowner’s installed a large trough with two faucets and a special spout for cold flat, sparkling and boiling water. Photo by Daniel Blue, courtesy Gloria Carlson. 
Before: The corner sink and cluttered countertops didn’t leave much room for two to share workspace. Photo by Daniel Blue, courtesy Gloria Carlson. 
After: An appliance garage holds a coffee maker, Cuisinart, toaster and more, hidden behind cabinet doors. Photo by Daniel Blue, courtesy Gloria Carlson. 
Before: With appliance stored on the coutertops., the kitchen looked cluttered. Photo by Daniel Blue, courtesy Gloria Carlson.
Palo Alto homeowner Gloria Carlson didn’t just remodel her kitchen — she reimagined it with the precision of a seasoned interior designer. Her first renovation of the home’s 1950s kitchen in 2001 inspired a career change from technical speech researcher to certified designer, and now, two decades later, she and her husband, Steve, set out to transform the space again.
What had once been charming and functional had become cluttered and awkward, so Gloria, now a senior designer at Harrell Build and Design, tackled her kitchen remodel with the expertise and vision she has honed over decades as a professional — a transformation that earned a 2025 National Association of the Remodeling Industry Silicon Valley Gold Award.
A new perspective
Her first challenge: the small sink tucked in a back corner, a constant bottleneck with cluttered counters and minimal storage. Gloria’s solution? Move the sink to a long wall, turning it into a huge trough with two faucets and a special spout for cold flat, sparkling and boiling water. A moveable colander and a two-level cutting board allow a cook and cleaner to work side by side — no more traffic jams in the kitchen.
“We overcompensated” with the large trough, but it gives a strong delineation of labor in the kitchen, she said.
Special features of the trough, which enables the cook and the cleaner to work side by side, are a cutting board that can run on two levels, as well as a moveable colander.
Nearby, their old gas range was replaced with a Wolf induction cooktop, with a 15-inch, high BTU gas wok burner as well.
Today the back wall is lined with a roomy appliance garage with sensor-activated under-cabinet lighting, as well as a 30-inch Sub-Zero refrigerator. One side wall is lined with major storage, including a deep pantry, rollout pantry shelving and two deep freezer drawers. A separate refrigerator/freezer houses the ice maker and drinks.
Choosing a color scheme
A key design element in the updated kitchen is a multi-colored slab of natural stone quartzite, which cascades down to a table-height section with seating for five. The stone is used as a backsplash, with the darker sections over the cooktop and lighter part over the sink.
Palo Alto kitchen | Embarcadero Media | designed by Linda TaaffeNoting its popularity, Carlson said it’s dense, hard and durable.
“It was the first thing I picked,” she said. “Every other thing was built around the colors in this slab.”
The countertop near the sink and cooktop is a quiet, manmade Cambria quartz.
By removing the old peninsula, there no longer is a barrier between the dining room and kitchen. Another wall was removed that separated the living and dining rooms, creating one large open space – ideal for gathering family members (four generations, ranging from 5 months to near 90) who all live nearby.
“My biggest issue was entertainment,” Steve said, preferring to clean up solo.
“I have a system. This space is expansively better. I can lay things out and shoo people out.” Plus, he can hide a stack of dishes under the moveable cutting board in the trough sink.
Beyond the kitchen
The remodel extended beyond the kitchen. Once happy to have a built-in space for their TV in the family room, the couple soon discovered that newer models no longer fit. So, they took out the corner cabinet and hung a Samsung Frame TV on the wall, displaying art when turned off. The fireplace remains in place, but with wood trim to match the new cabinetry.
Throughout the first floor, durable Gaia vinyl flooring blends with the upstairs hardwood. “It looks like wood, but can withstand water, stiletto heels, and dogs,” Gloria said.
Throughout the first floor, durable Gaia vinyl flooring, a stone-plastic composite, blends with the upstairs ardwood.
“It looks like wood,” and is much hardier, Gloria said. The old floor had been damaged by water, a visitor’s stiletto heels and dogs, she added.
For the upstairs bathroom remodel, they chose 24-inch by 47-inch tiles for the wall above the new sinks and inside the shower. Instead of the corner bench, they now have a niche, perfect for balancing while shaving legs.
The office was completely revamped with built-in cabinets. A closet was re-oriented, creating wall space in the office and mudroom storage on the other side.
Construction took about four months, with the Carlsons sleeping upstairs but using the downstairs bathroom and setting up a temporary kitchen in the garage.
“In 2001, we relied on pros, and we didn’t know what would work. After 23 years of training, I’ve developed my own design style and learned what works … (This time) I was the client and thought how we would live through the remodel,” Gloria said.
