About Vicunachocolate

Kitchens Planned Around the Light

Vicunachocolate is a kitchen remodeling contractor in Newport Beach. We do the whole range of kitchen work, from cabinet and counter updates to full remodels, but we come at every job from the same starting point: how the room is lit, and how it will be lit once the sun goes down.

That focus came from the kitchens themselves. A lot of homes here get generous, reflective light during the day. Water, pale stucco and wide sliding doors push brightness deep into the room, and many owners chose their house partly for that. Then evening arrives and the kitchen falls back on whatever lighting a builder put in decades ago, often a single ceiling fixture or a grid of recessed cans that lights the floor better than the counter. People tell us they love their kitchen in the morning and avoid cooking in it at night.

How We Work

We look at the kitchen twice before we quote anything, once in daylight and once after dark. The daylight visit tells us about glare, sun angles and which finishes will be uncomfortable. The evening visit tells us where the shadows are and what the existing wiring can support.

From there we draw a lighting and electrical plan on your actual layout, then build the rest of the remodel around it. Cabinet orders allow for under cabinet channels. Countertop finishes are chosen with the light in mind. New circuits, switch locations and the panel are handled at rough in, inspected through the City of Newport Beach, and closed up only after they pass.

What We Will Tell You Straight

Not every dark kitchen needs a remodel. Sometimes the fix is moving four recessed lights and adding a run of under cabinet LEDs. Sometimes a harsh afternoon glare problem is a window shade, not a new counter. We will say so when that is the case.

We work across Newport Beach, from narrow lot homes on the Balboa Peninsula and Balboa Island to 1960s and 1970s houses in Eastbluff and Dover Shores and larger kitchens in Newport Coast. Call (949) 250-9169 to set up a daylight visit, an evening visit, or both.