Northrop Neighborhood

after

before

after

Before and After Gallery

Home Location : Minneapolis, MN

Home Built : 1927

Photographer : Joy Watson, Modern Joy Photography

Summary :

The old kitchen was a dark and ugly room, but the rest of the home was in pristine condition with beautiful trim and woodwork, cased arches, windows, and built-in cabinetry befitting the homes original 1927 build. They wanted a pristine kitchen and mudroom area with a complementary style, reflecting their taste in furnishings and modern cooking amenities.

This once neglected kitchen, in the heart of an esteemed structure, has now become a timeless showpiece, treasured and enjoyed by this loving family, their friends, and future generations.

Awards & Achievements :

See other projects we did on this home :

Bath

Scope & Objectives :

They wanted a less cramped rear entry and a mudroom. To achieve this we removed 1 wall and filled in 2 doorways for better layout.
They wanted a pantry so we installed one to the left of the coat cubby and another left of the refrigerator.
She wanted close access to their child when in the kitchen, so we enlarged the doorway to dining room and added a small desk area with cork-board backing that is out of flow of traffic.
They needed counter space! The old kitchen did not have much next to the range or the ANY at the Ref. so by changing the overall layout and putting the appliances in new locations, a surplus of prep area was added.
Storage. They only really had the one sink wall of cabinets and wanted more room for small appliances, dishes and more room to move! This large galley kitchen design allows many people to be in the kitchen at the same time or allows them to move freely through the space, storing, and getting access to everything they need.
By installing hardwood flooring (toothed into the existing home floors), painted inset custom cabinets, Cambria Blackwood countertops, subway tile backsplash, high-end appliances, a pot-filler in the niche behind the stove and foot pedal controlled sink faucet, and a water purification system; their wish come true!
Each of the particulars mentioned above required immense synchronization between all trades (design dimensions, plumbing, hvac, electrical, tile just to name a few)
With the new layout we have a perfect working triangle, appliance doors don’t interfere with each other or traffic flow, there is a multitude of prep space and storage, its bright and welcoming with the variety of task & general lighting, and the kitchen and rear entry/mudroom feel(and actually are) so much bigger!
The unique light fixtures selected by the owner personalize the stark space, and create visual drama.
The selection of materials and finishes create color contrast, while careful placement of the cabinetry and appliances at the range wall and the sink wall provide pleasing focal points.
As mentioned, part of the project was closing off the former kitchen opening to the 2nd floor staircase. The hand-milled trim tied into the existing at this area, and skill of the finish carpenters and painters, make this stair landing on the living room side appear as if it was original to the homes construction.

Challenges & Solutions :

The homes original laundry chute location came down from the 2nd floor through the kitchen, to the basement laundry. It was located in the kitchen, behind the location of the new micro/oven/warming drawer stack. Because of this, the electrical couldn’t go behind the appliances as normal, so the chute was modified to remain functional and meticulous coordination occurred between trades to place the electrical in the adjacent cabinets and install a plug strip in the desk drawer for accessories charging.
The windows remained in their current location at the customer’s request, and so we worked them into the design, just added new trim and painted them out, making the kitchen lighter.
Plumbing and the homes boiler heating pipes that served the 2nd floor were located in the wall at the rear entry/mudroom that needed to be removed. These were rerouted, a difficult and expensive task – but well worth it for the open plan. We also changed from standing radiators to a space-saving baseboard heater under the desk and a coil fan hot water toe-kick heater near the sink (placement limited by the plumbing pipes and electrical panel in the basement below.) There are now flexible heating elements to weather the seasons.
Because of the CFM size of the customers range hood selected, code required that make-up air be installed which added to project expense and caused additional difficulty in mechanical routes.
The recess niche behind the stove was in a structural load-bearing wall requiring additional carpentry and then wall furring to cover existing plumbing pipes.

Before and After Gallery

Scope & Objectives :

Challenges & Solutions :

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