This 1950s classic home had great bones and gorgeous original hardwood flooring. But its choppy layout and narrow openings between rooms made the first-floor space feel cramped—not ideal for a young, active family. The homeowners wanted a larger kitchen with a spacious island with prep space and seating for five. Plus, a lighter, brighter living space with a seamless flow from room to room.
The homeowners’ vision translated into an open-concept living space that would increase the kitchen footprint, add a large island, eliminate the formal dining room that was rarely used and create a free-flowing living space throughout the home’s first floor.
The Kitchen: Before
The original kitchen was dated, isolated and lacked functional prep and storage spaces—must-haves for this young family. Despite windows along the rear wall, the room felt dark and cramped because it was separated from the rest of the first floor living area. Plus, the dark wood cabinets and granite weighed down the space visually. Beyond the kitchen, the adjoining dining room, living room and family room areas were like silos, lacking cohesiveness and harmony.
The Kitchen: Planning Phase
The homeowners’ vision for their new kitchen was an updated, more functional family gathering space with lots of light for an airy feel and much-needed organization and storage. Because they seldom used their formal dining room, we borrowed square footage from that space and removed the dividing walls between the dining room and family room and the family room and kitchen to create one open, cohesive space that feels and lives much larger.
The Kitchen: During
To create the open-concept space, we removed walls, expanded entryways between rooms and installed a new beam to carry the heavier load. This larger beam required digging footers in the basement and installing steel-bearing plates bolted into new walls poured to replace the home’s original—and fragile—terracotta foundation. Adding columns flanked by wing walls on both ends of the new beam helped distribute the load for structural integrity.
The Kitchen: After
We used the original chimney to anchor the kitchen, exposing, tuckpointing and whitewashing the brick. The island flanks the chimney on both sides, featuring seating on two sides with plenty of workspace while accommodating the sink (BLANCO Undermount Composite Super Single Sink in Concrete Gray) with Moen faucet and soap dispenser. Plus, loads of built-in storage – a lazy Susan, cabinets, drawers with dividers and pull-outs, plus pop-up USB ports for convenient charging. For eye-catching style and quality, we went with Medallion Lancaster cabinetry in Gale Classic on the island and Sea Salt on the perimeter. Surfaces feature Corian Quartz in London Sky. Overhead, can lights provide primary light while Newton Bell One-light 10-inch Mini Pendants frame the island.
Behind the island, the original kitchen dividing wall area is reconfigured to include the major appliances with functional storage.
Where the planning desk once stood, the new space features floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets with adjustable shelves and roll-out trays. Plus, the old pantry cabinet is redesigned to become the family command center, with rollout storage, a charging station, space to hang a calendar, a dry-erase board for messages and more.
Open-concept Living Areas: After
To tie the open living areas together, in the former dining room nook, we used the same Medallion cabinetry from the island with a custom maple surface and floating shelves to create the showpiece bar to display the owner’s expansive whiskey collection. For visual harmony throughout the first floor, we removed the tile floor in the kitchen, toothed in new hardwood to match the rest of the original floors in the home, and then sanded and refinished all hardwood throughout.
