Kitchen remodel in Orange, CA: full gut with gray shaker cabinets and a black island

A young couple bought their first home in Orange, a fixer upper, and started with the kitchen and the bathrooms. We did both, and this page covers the kitchen. The old one had medium-brown wood cabinets, white tile countertops, a tile-top island, a skylight and a chain-hung light over the island.

We gutted the kitchen. Cabinets, counters and flooring came out, and we opened the back wall to the studs. We recommended keeping most of the plumbing where it was, to save the homeowners as much as we could. We replaced some older PEX with copper and some of the old cast-iron drain lines with new plastic drain pipe. All the electrical is new, with dedicated lines so it would pass permitting. We closed off the old skylight and replaced the chain chandelier with recessed lighting.

The homeowners chose the shaker cabinets and the countertops from our suppliers. They also picked the luxury vinyl plank, and we ran it throughout the ground floor. They chose and supplied the sink, fixtures and appliances, and we installed them. The finished kitchen has gray shaker cabinets with black pulls and glass-front uppers, a black island, a black farmhouse sink and a built-in desk run with drawers.

The house is not in an HOA. Every permit inspection passed on the first try, and none of them held us up. The remodel took 8 weeks including permitting, and we finished it in late 2025. We delivered what the homeowners asked for, and they hired us to renovate two more bathrooms.