When we first met with this client we knew that the 1922 home was bursting with opportunity for improvements. Her home had been previously poorly remodeled losing the integrity of the original style. The owners had put on additions and removed the original trim in many areas, leaving the only reminders of the 1920’s era in the sagging floor joists, out of plumb walls, cracking plaster, and a few edge banded doors. The pluses were that the home was in a nice neighborhood, it had wonderful natural lighting, and original 1 ½” natural white oak flooring.
Our client was ready to repair the home, in the contemporary style that the previous owner had started. She had just installed new windows into the sunroom addition at the rear of the home, which unfortunately was closed off from the existing kitchen.
The problems in the kitchen were: outdated and scarce electrical, a missing dishwasher and stove hood venting, a lack of any usable prep space and storage, old galley kitchen had cheap melamine cabinets, laminate tops and the walls weren’t insulated, inconsistencies between the styles of the finish trim throughout – it was a mix of not only stained vs. painted, but also between the original edge-banded vs. Princeton style trim, all in the same room! Nothing quite matched or flowed together in the house.
The client desired: open kitchen to sunroom while allowing seating area for reading or an informal dining/café table where she can enjoy the sunlight provided by the new windows she installed, sacrifice larger sink for ability to gain storage and prep areas at existing kitchen window and still have room for the dishwasher, larger fridge and more efficient appliances, keep costs down – leave existing window, keep appliances and fixtures in roughly the same locations, keep kitchen proportionate to other rooms in the home, not too grandiose, fairly inexpensive laminate countertops with unique tile splash that contrasts with the cabinets.
The clients open mind and desire to do a quality and proper remodel helped us make this kitchen an inviting and fashionable space.
Structurally we removed the wall dividing the kitchen and sunroom, and installed a new support beam. We furred out all the kitchen and sunroom walls to make them plumb, added insulation, and installed joist hangers to code in the ceiling. The finish trim was replaced throughout the 1st floor, matching the new window replacement finishes she had already started. Therefore, new oak casing and base in the living and formal dining room, and painted casing and base in the kitchen and sunroom. All in the same profile now. The fridge is near an opening which normally is not ideal, however, the client was on a budget so we kept the sink and range in existing locations and tucked the fridge in the corner so it allows for an open porch/kitchen layout.
We were cost conscious throughout, using European style cabinetry in prefinished oak with a chocolate brown stain color. It was made to resemble Wenge, but was lower in cost. Cabinets are slab doors and drawers. The kitchen window sill and apron were removed and the lower countertop section was run through to maximize the additional storage with the low cabinet under the window. A trash rollout and mini drawers left of the sink and right of the peninsula gained additional function in otherwise inaccessible locations. Pionite Countertops were installed with the only cost upgrade being the stone tile pebble backsplash running around the entire kitchen and even around the kitchen window.textures, all serve to make this kitchen and sunroom warm and inviting spaces.
Deep chocolate brown cabinets, new stainless steel appliances, a splash of sunny color on the walls and pebble tile textures, all serve to make this kitchen and sunroom warm and inviting spaces.
