Projects › Upper West Side › 39 West 83rd Street
Completed project · Upper West Side, New York, NY
A galley kitchen in a third-floor Upper West Side walk-up co-op, opened to the living room by taking out half a non-load-bearing partition and leaving a knee wall at 34½ inches. The circuit breaker panel was mounted on that wall and had to move. Sage green cabinetry runs to a 94½ inch ceiling, a handmade 4 by 4 tile backsplash is set on the diagonal, and an island stands where the wall used to be. Every appliance, tile and finish below is the one that was specified and installed.
Job record
- Project
- Galley kitchen renovation, partial wall removal, electrical upgrade
- Location
- 39 West 83rd Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY 10024
- Building
- Third-floor walk-up co-op, joist-construction floors and ceilings
- Completed
- Early 2026
- Ceiling height
- 94½ in, with wall cabinets run the full height
- Wall removed
- Under 40 sq ft of non-load-bearing partition, knee wall left standing at 34½ in
- Scope
- Kitchen renovation · Wall removal · Electrical upgrade · Floor tile and soundproofing · Cabinetry · Appliance installation · Painting
- The complication
- The circuit breaker panel was mounted on the wall that came out
- Team
- Designer Rejla · Renovation expert Ben · Project manager Danny
The starting point: a galley behind a partition wall
The kitchen was a narrow galley closed off from the living room by a partition wall, with olive green glass-front cabinets, a dark laminate countertop, terracotta floor tile and a freestanding gas range. There was no dishwasher, no hood over the range and no backsplash tile. A large mirror hung on the living-room face of the partition, and the apartment’s circuit breaker panel was mounted on the same wall. The exposed brick running the length of the room was the one thing worth keeping.
What the crew did, in order
Strip out
The mirror on the living-room face of the partition, the wall and base cabinets, the countertops and backsplashes, the sink and faucet, the floor tile, the soffits, the ceiling light, the outlets and switches, the freestanding gas range and the refrigerator all came out and off the premises.
Take out half the wall
Under 40 square feet of non-load-bearing partition between the kitchen and living room was removed, leaving a knee wall at 34½ inches. The opening was re-framed, sheetrocked and spot-plastered, and the soffits came down to let wall cabinets run the full 94½ inches to the ceiling.
Move the electrical panel
A new circuit breaker panel was installed on a nearby wall outside the kitchen, with the existing panel left in place as a splice box. Dedicated lines were run to the refrigerator in its new position, the range hood, the dishwasher and two above-counter GFCI outlets, with a further GFCI for code compliance and one for the under-cabinet light transformer, concealed in the cabinetry.
Move the gas line
New hard pipe was run downstream of the existing gas shut-off valve to the range’s new position, which is where the refrigerator used to stand, with the pipe concealed in the cabinet toe-kick. New shut-off valves, check valves and water hammer arrestors went in, with a check valve next to the sink for the dishwasher.
Floor build-up
A waterproof membrane was laid and turned up the walls 6 inches, Ecore QT acoustical underlayment was glued down over it, and AKDO Gaja Sand porcelain went down on top with a metal transition at the doorway and a saddle dividing the tile from the wood flooring beyond.
Cabinets, stone and tile
Executive Cabinetry in Basil Leaf went in to ceiling height with an Alder Caffe island where the partition had been, under Caesarstone Frosty Carrina. The backsplash is Glazzio’s Manacor 4 by 4 in white and beige, set on the diagonal between counter and wall cabinets with a Schluter trim at the edge.
Appliances and finishing
A panel-ready Bosch refrigerator, a Bertazzoni gas range, a ductless recirculating Broan hood and a fully integrated Miele dishwasher were installed, the sink and deck-mount bridge faucet hooked up, surface-mount under-cabinet lights fitted, and the kitchen painted along with the skimmed wall where the old panel had been.
Materials and finishes
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Cabinetry | Executive Cabinetry, Sydney 300 door style, 799546 and 799547, in Basil Leaf with an Alder Caffe island |
| Countertop | Caesarstone 5141 Frosty Carrina, polished, 3 cm with an eased edge |
| Backsplash tile | Glazzio Manacor 4 by 4, MAN26919 white and MAN26913 beige, set on the diagonal |
| Backsplash trim | Schluter A110MBW in matte white |
| Floor tile | AKDO Gaja Sand porcelain, PO2415-1224T0, 12 by 24 |
| Grout, caulk and sealer | Laticrete Permacolor Select NS in Bright White on the backsplash and 93 Fossil on the floor, Laticrete 44 unsanded acrylic caulk, Aquamix sealer |
| Soundproofing | Ecore QT QTSCU 4002 acoustical underlayment, 2 mm, with Bostik EFA urethane adhesive |
| Refrigerator | Bosch B09IB91NSP, panel-ready built-in with bottom freezer, Home Connect and VitaFresh Pro |
| Range | Bertazzoni PRO244GASXV, 24 in freestanding gas, stainless steel, four sealed burners and a European convection oven |
| Range hood | Broan BCSD124SS in stainless, ductless recirculating, with an S97020465 charcoal filter |
| Dishwasher | Miele G5482SCVi, fully integrated, panel ready |
| Sink | Blanco Precis 522414 Silgranit undermount in white |
| Faucet | Unlacquered solid brass bridge faucet with an arc spout and side sprayer, with a matching brass basket strainer |
| Cabinet hardware | Rejuvenation in aged brass: Ansel appliance pulls 2343652 at 18 in and 6448907 at 12 in, with Grace cabinet knobs 4028976 |
| Under-cabinet lighting | Richelieu FlexyLED UHE6B in 3000 K warm white, 10 W and 20 W runs on a 24 V 50 W dimmable supply, in a Blade surface-mount aluminium profile |
| Switches and outlets | Lutron Claro CAR-15-GFST-WH GFCIs and CARS-15-TR-WH appliance outlets, a Maestro MACL-153MH-WH dimmer for the ceiling light, with CW-1-WH and CW-2-WH wallplates in white |
| Paint | Benjamin Moore Regal Select, matte on walls, flat on the ceiling and pearl on trim, over Sherwin-Williams primer |
| Under the finishes | Waterproof membrane turned up the walls 6 in · acoustical underlayment · re-framed and spot-plastered wall opening · gas hard pipe concealed in the toe-kick · relocated circuit breaker panel |
The part of this job that is under the floor
There are no photographs of the floor build-up, because by the time a kitchen is worth photographing it is three layers down. On this job that build-up is a waterproof membrane turned up the walls 6 inches, then Ecore QT acoustical underlayment glued down over it, then the porcelain.
In a pre-war walk-up co-op that middle layer is not optional. These are joist-construction floors and ceilings, which means the apartment below hears what happens above it. Acoustical underlayment under a hard floor is the kind of thing a co-op alteration agreement asks for in writing, and it is the reason a new tile floor does not become the downstairs neighbour’s complaint.
The result
The kitchen kept its footprint and stopped feeling like a corridor. Taking out half the partition put an island where a wall had been, gave the room a second working surface and a seat, and let the light from the living room reach the range. The cabinetry gained the height the soffits had been taking, and the kitchen got its first dishwasher, its first hood and its first backsplash.
More MyHome projects on the Upper West Side
Questions people ask about renovating a small NYC kitchen
Can you take out the wall between a galley kitchen and the living room in a co-op?
If it is not load-bearing, yes. On this job under 40 square feet of partition came out between the kitchen and the living room, and rather than removing all of it the design kept a knee wall at 34½ inches, which gives the island something to sit against and keeps a little separation between cooking and sitting. The opening was re-framed, sheetrocked and spot-plastered, and the switch on the knee wall was lowered to suit its new height.
What happens if the electrical panel is on the wall you want to remove?
It moves, and it is not a small item. On this kitchen a new circuit breaker panel was installed on a nearby wall outside the kitchen and the old panel was left in place as a splice box. That wall was then skimmed and painted as part of the job. The new panel also carried the dedicated lines the kitchen needed: refrigerator, range hood, dishwasher and two above-counter GFCI outlets.
Can you add a dishwasher to a pre-war kitchen that never had one?
This kitchen had no dishwasher, no hood over the range and no backsplash tile at all. All three went in. The dishwasher is a fully integrated Miele behind a cabinet panel, on its own dedicated line, hooked up with a check valve next to the sink. Where a kitchen has no ducting, a ductless recirculating hood — here a Broan with a charcoal filter — does the job without cutting through the building envelope.
What has to go under a new kitchen floor in a walk-up co-op?
On this floor: a waterproof membrane turned up the walls 6 inches, then Ecore QT acoustical underlayment glued down, then AKDO Gaja Sand porcelain, with a metal transition and a saddle dividing the tile from the wood flooring beyond. The building is joist construction, so the underlayment is what keeps a hard floor from carrying into the apartment below, and it is usually written into the alteration agreement.
Can a galley kitchen actually fit an island?
This one did, once half the partition wall was gone. The island is finished in Alder Caffe against the Basil Leaf perimeter cabinets, so it reads as a separate piece of furniture rather than more kitchen, and it carries its own concealed outlet. It gave the room a second working surface and a place to sit in a footprint that had neither.
