Kitchen 231 Gallery

PROBLEM:
After occupying their 1990’s center hall Colonial for many years, the owners—a middle-aged couple– had gradually identified a series of functional and aesthetic problems with existing 12’ x 18’ kitchen/breakfast area and its contiguous rooms. Chief among these:
an adjacent dining room (12’ x 14’)—separated from the kitchen by a bearing wall—was seldom used and no functional value in their daily lives;
the breakfast area is cramped, scarcely large enough to contain a small round table with 4 chairs; the table and other loose furnishings consume too much floor space and there are ensuing clutter and traffic problems;
small windows and poor lighting have resulted in an unnecessarily dark interior;
limited storage [small builder-grade cabinets positioned under ceiling-flush HVAC bulkheading do not provide the necessary capacities]
the original electric range cook top is inadequate for owner’s emerging gourmet cooking interests; space-restricted surfaces cause frequent clutter;
existing floorplan is cramped and poorly rationalized relative to work triangle requirements; appliance placements; food preparation and serving needs
the original builder-grade flooring (vinyl in kitchen; carpet in front rooms) is conspicuously worn
a railing between the kitchen and the family room is an obstruction to traffic: owner seeks greater visual continuum via a more open floor plan;
lack of space for larger refrigerator, breakfast dining counter; convenient stations for particular appliances
Dated interior: [flooring, builder-grade cabinets, 30 year old appliances.
Overall, owner is seeking to replace worn, dark, out-of-style kitchen with substantially enlarged and upgraded “open” facility that combines traditional and contemporary interior design elements, invites in more natural light and is configured to support multiple social and culinary needs.
SOLUTIONS:
The program calls for combining the kitchen and the unused dining room into single room with well-defined activity zones; sundry “strategic” revisions will, in turn, establish useful work triangles, improve traffic and foster a more aesthetically-pleasing ambiance for work and play. Changes include:
remove obstructive bearing wall between kitchen and dining room creating the footprint for spacious gourmet kitchen;
route gas lines to location for a new gas range, re-route plumbing to new bar sink;
remove vinyl and carpet; install porcelain flooring throughout kitchen, breakfast area
develop in old dining room interior elevation for 5-burner gas cook top and custom-designed hood
design multi-level granite-surfaced island with bar sink
design and install in-kitchen dining/ serving counter.
L-shaped built-in benches in the former breakfast area
remove ceiling flush bulkheading; reroute ducting work;
Design and install new cabinetry system with 70% increase storage
create interior elevation with console that includes 30” double oven
Add 3 set course of Andersen double windows in (south-facing) rear elevation bearing wall; [seamlessly re-patch exterior vinyl siding]
Interior finish work includes:
softly accented wall paints in lieu of wallpaper
decorative ceramic tile backsplashes; granite surfaces; complementary cabinet facings
custom mantle cook top hood
many finely articulated interior design details including flutes, mouldings corbels.
recessed lights; 6 hanging pendant lights; under-cabinet halogen lighting