Our challenge for this family was to create additional space in the existing rambler, without adding onto the home. We moved the existing small galley kitchen to a new location. We built a wall where there was a former railing open to the stairs down. By doing this we were able to create enough wall space for additional appliances, prep and storage space, a few large pantries and center island. The kitchen is finished with Alder wood hand-made cabinets, oak hardwood floors, and granite countertops. With the kitchen in a new location, it is now central to all the family activities and has a refined relationship with the dining room, living room, new mudroom, and new fireplace.
We created a large new mudroom in the location of the former galley kitchen. This mudroom is between the front entrance and the garage entrance allowing for the best functional accessibility. The owners gained walls of useful hanging, flip up benches, mitten, hat and shoe cubbies for their children. The mudroom is now functional for the family, but also something the clients may want to show off to guests.
We also removed the original brick and wood burning fireplace that ran from the basement, 1st floor, out through the roof. We then installed new concrete, floor joists, sub-floor, oak hardwood flooring, and roofing to seamlessly fill the old chimney’s void. We also installed a new 3 sided gas fireplace against the exterior wall and installed a skylight to ingeniously fill the hole in the roof from the old brick chimney. This created a much more open relationship between the dining, living room, and new kitchen to allow space for the island.
