Shop the Look: Christina Haack Renovates Her Parents’ Kitchen with CAFÉ

Though she was hesitant to take on the challenge, in season 5 of her HGTV hit show Christina on the Coast, Christina Haack renovated the kitchen, bar, and bathroom of her parents’ home. (Spoiler Alert: She ended up choosing CAFÉ appliances in her parents’ home because it offered so many choices, which gave her flexibility in her design plan. See the finished kitchen in our recent Instagram post here.) The Orange County, California house was where Christina grew up, so she was well acquainted with the issues she might face. She also knew she and her parents didn’t always see eye-to-eye on decorating.

Christina Hall's Kitchen with Cafe Appliances

“We’re really different, me and my parents. I mean, I just don’t know how we’re going to work together”
– Christina

Watch HGTV First Look at Season 5

In the HGTV First Look at Season 5, Haack explained, “We’re really different, me and my parents. I mean, I just don’t know how we’re going to work together” [1:11 in the YouTube video]. James, her design project manager, vowed to mediate between Haack and her parents, which made Haack agree to see what they had in mind and how she could offer them kitchen design ideas that met their requirements.

Upon visiting the home to discuss the scope of the project, Haack’s father, Paul Haack, said, “We moved into this house in 1985, when Christina was just a little over 2 years old” [2:23 in the video]. Haack added, “It looks a little different than when I was little.” Haack’s mother, Lori Haack, wanted to keep the current wood flooring that ran throughout the first floor, which posed a big challenge for Haack. Her parents also nixed the idea of pushing out a wall to give the kitchen more space. Haack quickly came up with a kitchen layout that didn’t change its footprint much [6:07 in the video].

Haack raised the ceiling height—it was lower than the rest of the first floor, which made the kitchen feel smaller and less open and airy. She also used her idea of going “light and bright” while moving a few things around to create a better flow, which lent itself well to using CAFÉ Matte White appliances in the kitchen. She moved the current coffee station and added some floating shelves to make it feel lighter. In it, she added a CAFÉ BELLISSIMO Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine also in Matte White.

Café BELLISSIMO Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine

Cafe Range, Refrigerator & Built-in Microwave Drawer Oven

Lori Haack also wanted new appliances throughout her kitchen and requested that Haack get rid of the double oven. Haack decided that a slide-in range with a new hood made sense, along with moving the refrigerator to the left just a bit to make the entryway easier to access near the peninsula. The final result revealed a CAFÉ Dual-Fuel Commercial-Style Range and the CAFÉ Counter-Depth 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator, both in Matte White, replacing the older appliances in that section of the kitchen. Haack also brought in a Matte White CAFÉ Built-In Microwave Drawer Oven.

Paul Haack requested she “kill the sink completely” in the bar [7:28 in the video] and add an ice maker and a beverage refrigerator. Haack decided to use our CAFÉ Beverage Center in Matte White along with an under-counter, 15-Inch Panel-Ready Nugget Ice Maker with Matte White door kit to match the appliances in the kitchen. Details like this create a cohesive design that continues from kitchen to bar so it all feels like one space.

Once the project was finished, Haack admitted she was nervous for no reason, “Ultimately, it was actually very easy. They really trusted me, which I appreciate,” she told US Weekly’s Johnni Macke. Her parents love the final kitchen design and we think this CAFÉ kitchen is stunning. Thank you, Christina, for creating a gorgeous kitchen that truly showcases CAFÉ appliances.