This project was very rewarding. We did a beautiful kitchen that honored the character of this house, but also improved the entire first floor flow of the home with a few simple moves. We relocated the door to the rear of the house, from the kitchen to a new "mudroom",which had previously just been a large closet. Then we cut in a new entrance to the living room from this mudroom, connecting all the rooms on the first floor in a circular flow. It made the whole house feel bigger and more logical.
Back to the kitchen. This home is what "A Field Guide to American Houses" would call "Eclectic Tudor," with a stone and half timber facade, dark chestnut interior trim and doors, some pointed arches in interior doorways,etc. This style was very popular in the wave of suburban homebuilding in the 1920's and 30's. The customers wanted the kitchen to evoke that era, so we used traditional woodworking details common with the time (flush inset cabinets with flat panel doors to match the doors of the house, simple cove and beaded moldings where appropriate, etc.) White is the primary cabinet color, with quarter sawn oak (stained to match the chestnut trim elsewhere inthe house) to give the kitchen some texture, but also to help with the wear and tear on the cabinets. Stained cabinets hold up much better to abuse than painted cabinets, especially to the moisture around the sink. In the following picture of the apron front sink, the dishwasher is integrated into the cabinet on the right, and a doube garbage pullout in the cabinet on the left.
On the other side of the kitchen is the cooking area and refrigerator. In this view of the cooking area, you will notice the sunken baking area. Its funny how projects evolve, but this was where the original back door of the house was, and relocating it was not in the original scope of the project.
So I designed the baking area as a future addition. We could install the other cabinets and finished counters, and because the center section is 4" lower, not have an issue with counter seaming in the future when the door got moved. Well, moving the door did eventually get put back into the project, but the baking station stayed. The customer is an avid baker, and it gave the kitchen some individuality.
Continuing around the kitchen is the refrigerator and some storage, with the microwave set below the counter. In the opposite corner, on the other side of the door to the dining room is a coffee station cabinet with open accent storage.
The materials were simple and classic, Carrerra marble on the counters, crackle subway tile on the walls, and the client pulled it all together with period hardware and lighting form Rejuvenation.
In the hallway to the new back mudroom, we fit a shallow cabinet for phone, mail, keys, etc, as well as food pantry and storage for items not used everyday.
In that area is a powder room that was updated. It originally contained a full shower, and we got the room for this very functional back hall cabinet by eliminating it so it had only a proper vanity and toilet.
Lastly, a few other details. Below are photos of the new doorway we cut into this back hall area from the living room, opening the flow of the house. We matched the pointed archway to one on the other side of the room. Also, there are photos of the new stairs to the backyard, and where we patched the old door in the kitchen. We took care to match the stucco details, and it looks as though the house was always this way, which is truly the mark of a successful renovation!
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