JSI Faves: Before and After Westham Renovation Part 2
In this second installment of our blog series featuring our renovation of our client's home in Richmond's Westham neighborhood, we're focusing on the most important room of the house ... the kitchen! We knew when we walked in and saw the original kitchen, we were going to have to test the limits of our clients' imaginations. The original cabinetry with the lemon colored formica countertops and matching walls was quite a throw back to an era gone by.
Original Kitchen
The room was not that small, but the actual work triangle, where most of the culinary magic happens, was quite cramped. There was also a lot of dead space in the middle of the room, yet no place for a breakfast table or casual dining.
Don't you love those yellow countertops?
We knew we would need to capture more space from the back of the house to make this kitchen function better for our clients. Luckily, the kitchen was settled back into an alcove on the back of the house which gave us some room to grow.
Original back of the house showing the kitchen window and door
The door to the left of the kitchen in the photo above was a great old Dutch door that led into the living space. We removed that door and relocated it to the side entry.
Original Dutch door restored and relocated to the client's side door
We removed the door to the patio from the kitchen and relocated that to the newly renovated sunroom off the side. We were then able to capture some of that courtyard space and push the kitchen back. We specified a large 8' wide window over the sink which floods the room with lovely natural light. By moving that wall out we were able to square up the room a little more and include a nice large kitchen island with seating.
The After!
Our clients' previous home had cherry cabinets, so they wanted to lighten things up this time. But, they have a house full of treasured furniture pieces with some very traditional darker finishes. A bright white kitchen, as is all the rage these days, would have looked too cold and out of place in their home. Instead, we opted for a soft linen white cabinet from Brookhaven mixed with a walnut stained island.
A dramatic contrast to the original kitchen!
We found a good light and neutral granite for the countertops and mixed it with honed travertine subway tiles on the backsplash. My clients now have ample cabinetry storage and lots of counterspace to make nice big family meals. A big thank you goes to Matt Gunn of Classic Kitchens of Virginia who collaborated in our kitchen design. He was a terrific partner in this team effort!
Tomorrow, we'll take a peak at some of the other interior transformations in this home. Stay tuned...
