Opening a Galley Kitchen Part 5

By Jackie Braitman • April 9, 2009

Rendering of Proposed Kitchen Remodel

This is the 5th article about taking an isolated kitchen in an older home and making it the center of today’s activities. While not strictly a galley kitchen, the kitchen in this 1930’s home is isolated from the rest of the house. Plus the house is isolated from a beautiful, deep wooded lot. My clients asked how they could make the kitchen the center of the home plus achieve greater connection with the outside. The aggressive mosquitoes of the Silver Spring, MD neighborhood has kept the family off the deck for the last several years. So, this proposed remodel, lets the family feel like they’re outdoors while still in the comfort of their home. The family is quite cost-conscious so we have proposed several things to keep costs down:

In order to save money, we left the kitchen and it’s plumbing in place. All appliances are in their original location.
We removed the wall between the kitchen and the dining room and have essentially removed the back wall of the house. We’ve transferred the load to a series of columns and beams.
Since the proposed addition has bath or kitchen in it, the costs are driven by the choice of finishes. Even so, we propose a stone veneer to further increase the feeling of being outside.
3 steps down to a new stone terrace further ground the space to the outside.
All 3 sides of the proposed addition are glazed — floor to ceiling. Operable windows will let in cooling breezes. The wooded lot will shade the house.
The proposed addition is essentially the same footprint as the current deck. Additional footers will be needed, but the construction will be post and beam so as not to damage the root
system of the close-by trees.

This is the Existing View into the Kitchen

Rendering of View From Front Door

Existing View From Foyer

Proposed New Floor Plan

Existing Floor Plan

Unlike the other homes in this series, the proposed remodel expands the existing footprint. However, by opening the house fully, we’ve created the same type of “first-floor” great room that we’ve done in the other remodels. Discrete areas are open to each other and allow full interaction and yet perserve the sense of intimacy and the ability to engage in separate activities while being together. The proposed remodel fully integrates the kitchen with the rest of the house and integrates the house with it’s surroundings.

Link to: Opening a Galley Kitchen Part 1
Link to: Opening a Galley Kitchen Part 2
Link to: Opening a Galley Kitchen Part 3
Link to: Opening a Galley Kitchen Part 4

All images courtesy of Braitman Design/Buildd

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Categories: Kitchen Remodeling, Kitchens & Baths, Living within the Existing Footprint, Outdoor Rooms, Remodeling
Tags: Before & After, Kitchen Remodeling, Living within Existing Footprint, Modernizing Older Homes, Remodeling

About the Author

Jackie Braitman

I'm the owner and principal of Braitman Design/Build. We remodel older homes within the urban and close-in suburban areas of Washington, DC. In addition to our full service Design/Build Practice We welcome small design projects and small home improvement projects. And consult with homeowners across the country who want to design and manage the remodeling process themselves. Finally, my work is informed by my experience as an exhibiting sculptor and designer. I truly work at the intersection of art, architecture and design. Please see for yourself the extraordinary result when architecture, design and art are seamless parts of the whole. Please also visit my sculpture website: www.jackiebraitman.com

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At the Intersection of Art, Architecture & Design

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