Friday, March 26, 2010

Fitting the Frig

~Chapter Four: The Big Squeeze~

Renovating an historically significant home can be difficult since often times people feel a sense of stewardship rather than a sense of ownership of such properties. Finding the right balance between charm and function usually boils down to sacrificing one thing to gain another. In this chapter of our kitchen saga, my client struggles with removing a “pass-through” that was originally designed to expedite service between the formal dining, breakfast room and the kitchen

Photos shown- clockwise from top left:

1. The Before photo shows the kitchen with 1960’s cabinets from a previous owner.  The kitchen footprint and the counter “pass-through” are original to the house.  My clients wishes were to: keep the pass-through, retain as much counter space as possible, widen the entry between the pantry and the kitchen and have it look like it was original to the house.

2. Framing: The new entry being built which eventually becomes an arch.  General contractor, Gerry Kuebler and his crew created several “mockups” of the new refrigerator using large sheets of cardboard. This was invaluably helpful for my clients to feel the space and eventually they decided to eliminate the pass-through in favor of a more spacious entry area.

3. Drywall: The new arched doorway set on an angle, widens the passage from the kitchen creating better traffic flow through the pantry to the formal dining areas

4. Install: New custom cabinets being installed. Although the length of the counter length is less than it was before, we created useable surface by designing the microwave into the upper cabinetry.

~The Finished photos are posted in the Photo Gallery of my website- www.robinmuto.com

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