A large family kitchen with an island, or a dated kitchen in a Preston Hollow ranch house, designed by Jan Revels, ASID Allied, and built under her general contracting, with City of Dallas permits handled as part of the job.
For a large family kitchen with an island, or an update to a dated Preston Hollow ranch kitchen, look for a designer who can plan the room and carry that plan through construction. Chateau Concepts does both. Jan Revels, ASID Allied, draws the plan and elevations, makes the selections with you, and runs the build as general contractor. That continuity matters when opening an older Dallas kitchen or making a larger room work for family life.
Real projects across Dallas and the Park Cities. Click any photo to view it full size.
This is what a design plan does. Nothing here is staged or borrowed — these are Jan’s projects.
A large kitchen can still be awkward. Preston Hollow and North Dallas kitchens often have longer cabinet runs and more floor area, so proportion deserves as much attention as storage. An oversized island can turn a generous room into a daily obstacle.
We start with how your household uses the kitchen. Who cooks together? Where do children sit while dinner is prepared? Does the route to the backyard pass through the cooking area?
Those answers determine the island’s job. It may provide preparation space, seating, or a place for family members to gather while someone cooks. We draw those uses together, then check what happens when stools are occupied and the dishwasher is open.
| Element | Planning dimension | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Work aisle for one cook | 42 inches | Provides room to work along the island |
| Work aisle for two cooks | 48 inches | Allows more room for shared cooking |
| Aisle where a dishwasher door opens | 48 inches | Accounts for the open door |
| Aisle behind seated stools | 44 inches | Preserves passage behind occupied seating |
| Walkway without work activity | 36 inches minimum; 42 inches comfortable | Distinguishes a passage from a cooking aisle |
| Clear seating run | 24 inches per stool | Gives each person usable seating space |
| Seating overhang | 12–15 inches | Provides room beneath the counter |
| Island depth | 36–40 inches for a work surface; 42–48 inches for work plus seating on one side | Matches depth to the island’s purpose |
| Island length and seating | 72 inches seats 3; 96 inches seats 4 | Connects seating expectations to available length |
| Very long island | Over 144 inches, consider two islands | Avoids repeated trips around a 12-foot obstacle |
What this means for you: these dimensions help test whether an island fits the way your family lives. A larger island earns its space only when the surrounding aisles, seating, and routes through the house work together.
Our kitchen island design and sizing guide gives you a useful reference before consultation.
The island also needs to belong to the room visually. We balance its length and depth against the perimeter cabinets, adjoining family room, and breakfast area. Our kitchen layouts compared guide can help you consider whether the room needs an island-centered plan or a different arrangement.
Older Preston Hollow kitchens were often built for a different household routine. Closed walls, small windows, a service entrance, and no island can leave the kitchen disconnected from the family room and backyard.
Opening the room is often the right direction. Before drawing that layout, however, we establish whether the wall is load-bearing and where the plumbing stack and gas line run. Both can change the cost meaningfully, and they are far cheaper to discover during planning than on demolition day.
| Approach | When it deserves consideration | Main construction or cost issue | What we establish first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refresh within the existing layout | The sink, range, refrigerator, and circulation already work | Cabinetry, counters, tile, and lighting can update the room without relocating utilities | Whether the existing arrangement supports your household |
| Open a wall | Separation from adjoining rooms is the main problem | Structural work and utility routes may affect the scope | Whether the wall carries a load and what runs through it |
| Relocate the sink or add island plumbing | A different layout would materially improve daily use | Slab cutting may be required | Slab conditions and plumbing routes |
| Relocate the range | The cooking position limits a useful new layout | Gas relocation and ventilation need coordination | Gas route and the proposed ventilation arrangement |
| Extend toward a patio or addition | The kitchen needs a stronger outdoor connection or more space | Mature trees may affect the plan | City of Dallas Arborist input before fixing the design |
What this means for you: the best value depends on what is actually wrong with the kitchen. If the layout works, a substantial finish and cabinetry refresh may serve you better than moving the working parts of the room.
Many Dallas houses sit on a slab. Moving sink or island plumbing can mean cutting concrete, and post-tension slabs require care around tensioning cables. Keeping the sink, range, and refrigerator in place avoids moving plumbing and gas—the largest single cost variable.
For wall changes, our guide to removing a load-bearing wall explains the planning issue to consider. We use the drawing stage to establish whether opening the room delivers enough benefit to justify the work.
The house beyond the kitchen matters, too. In a long, mostly single-story plan, material choices repeat across substantial distances. Running one floor through as much of the house as possible can give the renovation continuity.
Long systems runs also deserve attention; hot water takes time to reach the far end. We consider the kitchen’s relationship to the primary suite, children’s rooms, and outdoor areas rather than treating it as an isolated project. See the Preston Hollow renovation guide for the broader house context.
Preston Hollow is inside the City of Dallas. Kitchen permits, inspections, and contractor registration go through Dallas, unlike work in the separate municipalities of Highland Park or University Park.
A kitchen remodel usually needs a permit because kitchens almost always involve plumbing, electrical work, or both. We handle the applications as part of the build. The required work and inspections need to be accounted for in the construction sequence.
Chateau Concepts, LLC is registered with the City of Dallas as a general contractor and carries general liability insurance. Certificates are available on request.
A proposed kitchen addition or new covered patio also raises a site question. Preston Hollow’s large lots and mature trees make indoor-outdoor living realistic, but a plan near a tree should go to the City of Dallas Arborist before it is fixed.
At consultation, we distinguish a kitchen refresh from work involving structure, utility relocation, or an addition. That gives the permit discussion a defined scope and helps you understand which design choices carry construction consequences.
The decision order keeps later selections tied to an approved plan. Choosing a backsplash before a counter, or ordering cabinetry before appliance dimensions are settled, creates avoidable conflicts.
We follow this sequence:
The cabinet plan can be developed before every appliance is final, but the order cannot be released on assumed appliance sizes. That distinction lets design move forward while protecting the fit of the finished kitchen.
We also ask whether storage belongs entirely in the main kitchen. A separate serving or support area may be worth exploring when cooking and entertaining compete for the same surfaces. Our butler’s pantry and scullery design guide helps frame that choice.
Bring us the kitchen as it is and the problems you want solved. Call 214-797-4657 or book a design consultation, and we can evaluate the layout before you commit to individual products.
The schedule includes design, ordering, construction, and dependencies between trades. Cabinets require approval before their lead time begins. Counter templating cannot start until the cabinets are installed.
| Phase | Typical duration | What the timing means |
|---|---|---|
| Design and selections | 6–12 weeks | Time to develop drawings and settle the selections |
| Cabinetry lead time | 6–16 weeks from approval | Varies with stock, semi-custom, or custom cabinetry |
| On-site construction | 6–12 weeks | Plan to be without a working kitchen during this phase |
| Counter template to installation | 2–4 weeks | Cannot start until cabinets are in |
What this means for you: these ranges describe different parts of the project, so they should not simply be added into a promised completion date. We build the schedule around approvals, the cabinetry selection, and the work that must happen in sequence.
Plan to be without a working kitchen during construction. Discuss your household’s meals and daily routine during planning, while there is still time to prepare for the disruption.
Carry a contingency of 10–15 percent, with a higher allowance for a house built before 1980. That reserve matters when concealed conditions become visible during demolition.
There is no honest single figure for a kitchen remodel in Dallas. Moving plumbing and gas can change the cost substantially, so the scope needs to be defined before a budget discussion becomes useful. A refresh that retains the working layout and a remodel that opens walls and relocates island plumbing are different projects.
Our kitchen remodeling in Dallas service connects design with general contracting. We plan the room, develop the drawings, make selections with you, and carry that work into construction.
The design scope covers layout and clearances, floor plans and elevations drawn to scale, cabinetry, counters and backsplash, appliances and ventilation, and lighting. Cabinetry may be stock, semi-custom, or fully custom. Custom built-ins and cabinetry can address storage needs as part of the room’s plan.
The construction scope covers demolition, structural work, rough-in, inspections, tile, cabinetry, counter templating and installation, trim, paint, and the finish trades. The scope follows the approved design, with trades scheduled and work checked against the drawings.
The portfolio offers different design directions to discuss. Cedarbrush Kitchen pairs warm traditional cabinetry and granite counters with a large island. Blue Sky Kitchen uses painted cream cabinets and a sink run open to the family room.
The kitchen before-and-after above shows tile counters replaced with granite, a glass mosaic backsplash, and new appliances. The bar and servery before-and-after is a reference for supporting spaces.
In an older house, the design continues to matter after demolition begins. When something unexpected appears behind a wall, someone has to decide how to respond without losing the room you approved.
At Chateau Concepts, that person is Jan. She draws the plan and elevations, makes selections with you, and runs the build herself as general contractor. The person making a construction decision understands why the room was designed that way.
Jan Revels, ASID Allied, has practiced interior design in Dallas since 1997 and founded Chateau Concepts, LLC in 2001. She holds a BFA in Interior Design from the University of North Texas. We work in Preston Hollow, North Dallas and the Park Cities.
That local work spans different house types. Mid-century ranch houses, later traditional houses, and recent rebuilds can share a Preston Hollow street. The right approach comes from the individual house, its structure, and your household’s needs.
Chateau Concepts is rated 4.9 stars from 19 Google reviews. Alongside those reviews, ask practical questions: Who draws the elevations? Who coordinates the selections? Who checks the installed work? Who decides when concealed conditions affect the plan?
Our guide to who should design your kitchen remodel helps you evaluate those responsibilities. For broader work connecting the kitchen to adjoining rooms, explore our approach to interior design in Preston Hollow.
We also offer design-only engagements and hourly remodeling consulting for homeowners using their own builder. Those services provide planning and selections when you already have a construction arrangement.
Walk the kitchen, talk about how you actually cook and entertain, and get honest first impressions on the spot.
Layout options, clearances checked, every wall drawn to scale. This is where changing your mind costs nothing.
Cabinetry, stone, tile, appliances, fittings, lighting and hardware — chosen together so they work together.
Trades scheduled, permits pulled, work checked against the approved drawings, and one weekly update to you.
Jan designs the space and then runs the build. No hand-off, no two firms blaming each other, and nothing lost between the drawing and the crew.
Floor plans and elevations first, so you see the room before it exists. On paper, changing your mind is free. After the plumbing is run, it is not.
Chateau Concepts, LLC is registered as a general contractor with the City of Dallas, which requires registered contractors to carry general liability insurance. Certificates available on request.
4.9★ from 19 Google reviews. The person you meet at the consultation is the person on site at installation.
Start with a walk-through. Jan tells you whether the layout can stay, what the island needs around it, and what the plan should settle before anything is ordered.
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