Helping Homeowners
turn their Existing Home into the Home of their Dreams
First Floor Remodel Takoma Park,
MD
Key
Themes:
-
Integration of Classic
Lines & Modern Living
-
Functional Art to solve
design problems and
provide one-of-a-kind
style
-
Use of
Stock Materials to save
money
The Project:
Poor maintenance resulted in
damaged plaster, drywall, siding, and
flooring. The kitchen was inefficient --
doubling as a mudroom and passageway. The
kitchen was also stylistically and visually
separate from the rest of the house. Further
isolating the kitchen was the feel that you
were part of the neighbor’s house just a few
feet away.
The existing kitchen was
turned into a gracious family entrance,
powder room and coat closet. Paradoxically,
the house was bumped-out 5 feet toward the
near neighbor to create a kitchen nook off
the family room and good flow through the
house. Traffic now moves around rather than
through the kitchen and the kitchen has
assumed its role as the center of family
activities. With an extra high eating
counter and extra deep sink even the largest
mess is easily hidden from view without
closing off sightlines. The new kitchen has
22 linear ft of counter space compared with
less than 3' of cramped counter space in the
old kitchen.
Functional art was used to
solve the problems of the too-near neighbor
and to create warmth & one-of-a-kind style.
The art in the kitchen is a single
composition of bas-relief art glass windows,
sand-cast concrete backsplash and polished
concrete counters. The backsplash has inlays
of glass and pebbles while the counter has
inlays of stone & glass. The composition
even extends to the lines of the stove hood
and the onyx and travertine eating counter.
The use of functional art combined with
classic molding makes this modern, efficient
kitchen a seamless part of a renovated
classic home.
