The problems:
Our client loved her 19th century vintage home, but the existing kitchen & dining room were closed
off from each other so they felt cramped. The second floor had an unusable quasi-bedroom space between
the sitting room and office. Although the house had a reasonable amount of square footage, it felt dark
and constricted to our client.
The objectives:
- Create a more spacious feeling on the first and second floor.
- Combine the kitchen, dining room & hallway into a more unified space.
- Blend the historic character of the dining space with the more modern looking kitchen.
- Update and improve the layout of the second floor spaces.
- Add closets and relocate washer and drier to the second floor.
The solutions:
- Remove the load-bearing brick, chimney & fireplace wall between the dining room & kitchen.
- Install an island with wine cooler & microwave for dining, serving and entertaining.
- New posts and beams trimmed to blend the new with the historic while concealing utilities.
- Vault the ceilings in the new sitting room & bedroom, creating more spacious feeling rooms.
- Reconfigure walls to create two larger, mirrored, closets in the bedroom.
- Open up the sitting room and stairwell by replacing a wall with a low bookcase & post.
- Add a washer/drier closet at the second floor hallway.
- Patch and refinish fir flooring to brighten and "shine" up the floors.
The results:
- The kitchen and dining room are visually integrated, well loved, and well used.
- The new interior trim and casework matched the original century old woodwork.
- The combination of new and refinished wood floors creates a vintage yet warm & updated look.
- Overall a more open and better lit interior, while keeping the home's historic flavor.
- The new laundry closet is more convenient and located closer to the master bed & bath.
