Kitchen remodeling in Walled Lake usually takes place in a small house on a small lot. The city sits on the north shore of Walled Lake, and many of its homes began as summer cottages, packed close together on narrow parcels, before owners winterized and enlarged them for full-time living. Summer crowds once came for the lakeside amusement park and dance casino, and the cottage streets grew up around that trade.
Our studio is in Pinckney, about 40 minutes (25 miles) west. Walled Lake visits are arranged by appointment, and Nick sequences them so measuring, design reviews and selections fit into a few focused trips.
Kitchen remodeling in Walled Lake for compact lake homes
North-shore cottages on narrow lots
Walled Lake’s converted cottages have kitchens that were built small and added to piecemeal. Expect short walls broken by windows and doors, a mix of slab, crawl space and basement under different parts of the house, and appliances lined up wherever an outlet happened to be. Because neighbors are close on both sides, side windows are small and the main light comes from the lake end or the street end.
The design goal is to make a small room do the work of a full-time kitchen: real pantry storage, a usable prep run between sink and range, ventilation that actually vents, and lighting that makes up for limited windows.
Walled Lake is a small city of under two and a half square miles, incorporated in 1954, and most of its older housing is within a short walk of the water. Lots that slope toward the lake can put a basement under the street side and a crawl space under the lake side, which decides where a relocated sink can drain. Closer to Pontiac Trail and Maple Road, later ranches and small subdivisions give more conventional kitchens that usually stay in their footprint.

A few planned trips from Pinckney, not dozens
The Walled Lake process begins at your kitchen table with Nick’s interview-style questions, then a careful measure of every wall, floor change and window. A design retainer covers the drawings: plans, elevations, renderings and the technical set the installers use, with a pricing presentation at the end.
Counter, tile and hardware samples get judged in the cottage itself, under its lake-reflected light. The cabinet order runs through Kitchen NV, then partner contractors take the build from demolition to trim; on tight city lots, deliveries and dumpster placement are part of that planning.

Planning a kitchen in Walled Lake? Call (810) 923-8792
Call Kitchen NV in Pinckney, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Design consultations are by appointment.
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- MI Residential Builder #2101209269
- CMKBD · CAPS · CLIPP designer
- Serving since 2020
The M-Air Line Trail, the lake and city permits
Walled Lake is a small city with its own government, separate from neighboring Novi and Commerce Township, and the Michigan Air Line Trail runs through it on a former rail corridor. Permits for kitchen work are a city matter here, normally filed by the licensed contractor; check the current rules with Walled Lake’s city offices before anything is scheduled.
The building department works out of City Hall at 1499 E. West Maple. For residential renovations it asks for three sets of plans and allows up to two weeks for plan review, and its renovation checklist says plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits are not issued until the building permit has been approved. Contractors register with the department by showing photo ID and a current state builder license. Plans are now reviewed under the 2021 Michigan Residential Code, which the city lists as effective August 29, 2025.
Downtown, Riley Park holds the Foster Farmhouse, moved there in 1997 to save it, and the old amusement park and casino grounds at 13 Mile and South Lake Drive are now Pavilion Shore Park.
On the construction side, Nick’s Michigan builder license (#2101209269) is held in his own name.
Kitchen NV
10094 Kress Rd, Pinckney, MI 48169
Get directions · View on Google
Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–5 p.m. · Design consultations by appointment
Typical drive from our Pinckney base: ~40 min (25 mi).









