The
kitchen of this grand old home in North River Heights rang true to it's
origins...it had never been fully reconstructed to bring it up to its
modern day potential. When the house was built, the kitchen was not
of much concern because the homeowners probably never ventured into
it. This was borne out by the existence of two very narrow staircases,
no doubt meant only for staff, running up to the second floor and down
to the utility room in the basement. There was a door at the back of
the kitchen to the back yard and another one to the garage. The kitchen
was a narrow L-shape and not set up for efficient use. Over the years
some work had been done cosmetically, bringing it to a now dated contemporary
style done in black and white high gloss melamine.
"The
decor I had in mind was kind of Mediterranean - I had Tuscany or Greece
in my head."
"Having
lived away in another country for some 20 years, we didn't have a clue
as to what was available to redo this kitchen," Carla Plummer,
homeowner, explains. She contacted Charisma, The Design Experience and
spoke with Kim Schroeder, designer and owner. After some discussions
with the Plummers as to their needs and wants for this kitchen, Kim
went back to the office to put it all down on paper. "Things are
not always obvious in the house itself," she explained. "When
you put it all down on paper and see where the support beams are, you
can see the limitations and the possibilities."
The
first order of business was to move the "maid's staircase"
to another location to free up space in the kitchen and to widen the
staircase so that it was functional. "You couldn't even walk down
it with a laundry basket," Carla says with a laugh. By way of interest,
closing off the stairwell to the second floor afforded the Plummers
a new and probably much needed pantry on the second floor.
The
house is large and has two formal living rooms, one of which is slated
to be a library/den in the near future, and is the one that backs onto
the kitchen. By shortening that room about 4 feet, there was ample space
to relocate the stairwell to the basement and by placing it there, relocated
its entry to the recreation area instead of the utility area - a much
more inviting set up for the family. A 2-pc. powder room was also to
be relocated to that area. And, It all made perfect design sense because
that area is just off the main entry hall making it all look quite original.
The door to the back yard was also to be closed off, allowing space
for a large pantry, and relocated in its new sliding glass form, to
the screened porch adjacent to the kitchen (previously only accessible
from the dining room) which had its own exit door to the yard. The door
to the garage was also relocated but still opened to the kitchen through
a small hall and new mudroom area. The chimney was located in the front
wall of the kitchen and Carla was interested in finding out if the brick
was the kind one could leave exposed. "The decor I had in mind
was kind of Mediterranean - I had Tuscany or Greece in my head,"
Carla mused.
"When
the house was built, the kitchen was not of much concern because the
homeowners probably never ventured into it."
Kim
contacted Patrick Payne of the Malibu Building Group to head up this
renovation and serve as the coordinator of all the tradesmen involved.
"There are lots of challenges in renovating an older home,"
Patrick explained. "When we started demolition, we found the kitchen
was not properly insulated, the water lines had deteriorated, some of
the framing was under stress and had to be strengthened and straightened,
the old boiler in the basement and the hot water tanks had been neglected
and had to be overhauled, and the boiler was asbestos wrapped which
had to be removed. We had a lot of work to do but nothing that wasn't
fixable."
As if that weren't enough, the Plummers had decided they also wanted
a bathroom in their very large master bedroom upstairs. With three daughters
and two parents all sharing one bathroom in the morning, there was a
distinct need for this renovation. While not a problem for Kim to design
a beautiful 3-piece ensuite in the room, Patrick had to deal with installing
the proper structure and plumbing where there had been none before.
They had to run separate piping all the way to the basement and effect
separate ventilation because the bathroom was separate (by a partial
wall) yet somewhat open to the bedroom. It was a job done with extreme
mastery by all involved. The Plummers now have a state-of-the-art master
ensuite that looks like it was always there.
Back
in the kitchen, now wider and with straight walls and floor thanks to
the Malibu renovation team, Visions Kitchen Showcase was installing
some very interesting cabinets. Each cabinet had a predetermined function
and to add interest, different elevations of cabinetry were used. "There
isn't an abundance of upper cabinets because the renovation included
a large pantry which would compensate for the upper cabinet storage,
and allowed us to leave the two large windows in the work area for a
more pleasant, open feel," Barry Gesell of Visions explains. "Including
varying heights of drawers is also important to allow for storage of
many different things. There are even attractive wicker baskets in a
drawer bank next to the range for onions or breads." The cabinets
are all maple with an ivory stain and a subtle antiqued grey glaze providing
just the softness and shadow a Mediterranean kitchen would have. Beautiful
crown moldings give them substance. The granite counters, so functional
because of the long expanse between range and sink, are done in a warm
complementary colour called 'Giallo Veniziano' and were installed by
Western Marble and Tile. They are 'double edged' which means the granite
is built up to about 1 3/4" deep giving them a more substantial
look - the norm ranging from 7/8" to 1 1/4". The 'L' of the
kitchen was now a telephone/desk /kitchen library area leading you to
the new down staircase off the main hall. A portion of that 'L' wall
housed the chimney and while the exposed brick look couldn't be realized,
a beautiful broken stone wall was installed - somewhat in the same genre
as exposed brick but perhaps even more interesting and dramatic. Another
very interesting detail in the kitchen resulted from the Plummers desire
to have an eat-in kitchen and use their beautiful round oak table for
dining which posed a bit of a space problem in this not overly large
kitchen. By notching the lower cabinet (the TV/storage cabinet) just
under one of the drawers, the Plummers could push the table in to avoid
hindering traffic flow and still seat all five comfortably. When a guest
arrives for an informal dinner, the table is simply pulled out. "We're
in the business of solutions," said Kim with the confident smile
that comes from years of solution-oriented decorating experience.
A
tumbled marble backsplash, a texturized wall technique washed in a warm
terra cotta colour, a beautiful ceramic tile floor, fabulous stainless
steel appliances (dishwasher to come) all come together to give Carla
and her family the Mediterranean-style kitchen of their dreams! The
whole job took 5 months to complete and the Plummers were very pleased
with the creativity, the level of professionalism and quality of workmanship
of all involved. "Looking back, it was certainly worth it,"
Carla says with a big smile. "Come back and see what we do to the
library!"
SOURCE LIST:
Design: Charisma,
The Design Experience, Kim Schroeder, 204-487-6994
Demoltion and Construction: Malibu Building Group, Patrick Payne, 204-663-2183
Kitchen Cabinetry: Visions Kitchen Showcase, Barrey Gesell, 204-668-9896
Counters: Western Marble and Tile Ltd., 204-774-0537
Tile and Stonework: California Masonry, 204-452-6729
Painting: Duncan Lennox,
Flooring: Erhardt-Streu, 204-667-4890
Plumbing: Derkson Plumbing
Electrical: Alpine Electric, 204-661-4341
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