Kitchen Remodeling
Thanks to architects of yesteryear introducing open planning in residential architecture, the kitchen has truly become the heart of the home. Responsibilities of kitchen space not only include food preparation and consumption but also the center of entertaining, a conversation nook and completing school home work assignments. Kitchens almost design themselves as owners typically dictate cabinetry, appliances, materials and finishes they want in this very important place.
Kitchen A
In this example, the original kitchen was "room locked", not even a window in the work area. The owners desired a more open kitchen, one that related better to the surrounding rooms and had more work surfaces with storage.
The photos tell the story. The renovated kitchen includes a large island with granite counter. A dormer was added and light now filters into the kitchen through the resulting ceiling grid of "open and solid". A five segment, operable bow window was added on the exterior wall bordering the informal eating area. While the island cabinetry has been stained, the perimeter cabinets have been painted, and covered with a synthetic counter surface.
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The kitchen functions extremely well because of the four distinct pantry areas;
- The children's pantry designed so they could reach cereal boxes and lunch ingredients,
- The butler's pantry adjoining the dining room entrance,
- The wet bar / recycling pantry holds container bins and bottled beverages, and
- The dry goods pantry holding paper goods and food items purchased in bulk fashion.
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The new kitchen also improved circulation with direct connections to the dining room, foyer, billiard and family rooms.
Kitchen B
For the new owners of this bungalow, the kitchen was clearly a disappointment. Their entertaining lifestyle focused on "meal preparation" and the current kitchen was not going to fit the bill. The BEFORE picture shows the existing kitchen, which only had a total of 56" of counter space on either side of the sink.
However Dean had a vision. The kitchen was surrounded by an unused chimney, a linen ledge, small utility room, pantry cubby-hole, along with some inefficient storage space. The vision was to encompass all of these rooms and produce an "open" kitchen these clients so badly needed.
Following the plans, the contractor removed layers of flooring, moved some mechanical devices to the basement, demolished the chimney and leveled the existing floor to prepare for the new layout.
Once the new kitchen was established, meeting the owner's requirements was now within reach. The new kitchen now has over 18 linear feet of counter space. The kitchen also includes a two-person snack bar and extensive cabinetry. "A masterful use of the available space" has become a pleasing stage for the owners and their culinary escapades...
Kitchen C
This historic house had some nice features, but the kitchen definitely needed attention. The deficiencies of the existing kitchen are apparent in the BEFORE photo; vinyl floor, metal cabinets, laminate counters, and closed off from every other room in the house. The addition expanded the kitchen space threefold.
Challenges for the architect included how to increase natural light, how to vent the commercial hood with no outside access, how to enter the new space from the entrance hall, and how family members would come in he house without passing directly through the kitchen.
The new kitchen is a pleasure to the eye and from a culinary standpoint. A commercial stove was added for the owner's cooking passion. The kitchen adjoins the family room allowing the sharing of space. A free standing, two sided snack bar acts as the divider between the two rooms. Leading to the dining room is the butler's pantry with wet bar, drawers and cutlery cubbies. Finishes include maple cabinets and appliance fronts, granite counter tops and hardwood flooring.
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Dean Hatjioannou, AlA
Residential Architecture
Office: 704 - 321 - 2394
Fax: 704 - 321 - 7061
dean@housedean.com
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