The scope of the project was to bringing the charm of the French Country kitchen with all is amenities back into what had been lost through repeated remodeling over time. The existing kitchen was gutted and a 3’x17’ bay was added to give ample room for circulation around a center 4’x8’ sit-down island. In addition all the details were added around the room for being fully functional including; pantry, broom, buffet/ china cabinet, desk area, gas fireplace, large preparation area with sink, along with gas cooking niche/ with oven and hood. Stone was added to give a more relaxed atmosphere to what could otherwise have been an extremely serious space.
This kitchen included every appliance the owner wanted as follows: refrigerator, mini fridge, dishwasher, trash compactor, warming drawer, double oven, microwave, and wine cooler. The largest example of the needs being met was every single drawer and door had a designated purpose such as spice rollouts, pet food rollout, silverware/knife drawers, cookie sheets, bookshelves, etc.
Realizing that the space could not accommodate the large family’s needs within the existing parameters of the kitchen, the solution was to expand the space toward the driveway 3’ giving the kitchen a roomy ample atmosphere, while capitalizing on light and ventilation to the kitchen.
Attention to detail was paid in every detail of hand crafting these cabinets, wainscot, paneling, door, and drawer details into a unified whole. Lighting was carefully recessed in arched buffet and over the hood area to enhance and highlight these focal points. Endless special use drawers, files, dividers, ingeniously flips, doors were finally fit seamlessly into the whole for ultimate functionality. The corner desk is visually separated by the type of wood and creates a homework/laptop area for a busy family.
A former remodeling of an attached garage into a mudroom and family room had left it isolated from the kitchen. By removing interior closets and walls and opening the walls between the cook top and the refrigerator the everyday user friendly quality between the rooms was enhanced. The existing dining room door was not to be moved because of the existing structure and aesthetics of the dining room, which worked to the advantage of having this door near the center of the function and leaving the sink area prep and alcove at the sunny side of the house.
French Country Details were carefully selected to harmonize with the paneling, casing, base, crown moldings that existed throughout the rest of the house. This is a very traditional, older, formal home and the great deal of guest entertaining that the client did required a beautiful and functional space. Stone was added to give the eye a sense of focus and texture to make a pleasing contrast between the highly finished white cabinets and the dark solid surface countertops. Stone was added to give a more relaxed atmosphere to what could otherwise have been an extremely serious space.
A few unique attributes include a concealed warming drawer for delayed homecomings fits comfortably under the center island, which also features a flip down front on each side for spices and other utensils, cookie sheet doors and a bookshelf at the end. There is also a flip up food tray for the dog and cat in the drawer and toe kick.
Aesthetically, the challenge was to blend special order modern appliances fittings and fixtures within the French Country Style without the space looking cluttered – all of course within a very tight deadline.
