Our team at Dover was thrilled to be honored by NARI with a Contractor of the Year (CotY) Award for a kitchen renovation completed for our customer in Strongsville. Enjoy part two of this three-part blog series by designer Chika Aizu that takes you on a project walkthrough, with details about our design challenges and solutions—and photos that bring this bright, beautiful family kitchen to life.
Creating an open concept for the large living area was carefully addressed by Dover. To open up the area and create the large kitchen, bar and family room, Dover created a 15’ opening in the home’s main load-bearing wall, which required the installation of a massive steel beam. In order to make the open-concept plan work, the beam was installed flush to the ceiling. One challenge we came across in this process: the original load-bearing wall was filled with mechanicals.
Relocation of these mechanicals without using soffits required our craftsmen to gusset the floor joists per the structural engineer’s specifications.
As you can see in these before photos the original floor plan was broken and disjointed by various walls, a hallway and powder room.
After the remodel, the new layout now makes use of previously wasted space. We created a bar area that replaced the hallway and closet and relocated the powder room behind the bar.
Watch for the final blog in this three part series next week. I’ll show you the final elements of the kitchen renovation and its seamless flow with the new family room space.
All The Best,
Chika Aizu
