I'm excited
about my project featured in this year's Minneapolis-St. Paul Home Tour April
27-28! I hope you'll stop in and see it - it's #12 on the tour and is open 10
a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday.
We dubbed it
the Not So Fancy Kitchen because the owner - a wonderful woman named
Michelle - didn't want shiny granite counter tops, stainless steel
appliances or high gloss ceramic tile. Instead, she asked me to make it "not
so pretty" and asked me to avoid using shiny surfaces. Her
dream was to transform her 1940's kitchen into a colorful and functional space,
using colors inspired by vibrant antique Uruguayan tiles from her travels to
South America.
Wanting to
make the kitchen "a happy, fun place to cook in," Michelle wanted to
retain much of the character of the home. Also on the wish list was additional
storage and more natural light to transform the kitchen into a warm and
welcoming gathering space.
Repurposing
the Space:
Michelle
wanted to recycle or repurpose as much as possible in the home during this remodel,
so we retained the fantastic 1940's original linoleum flooring. A fun
repurposing project was reusing the original ironing board cabinet into a spice
cabinet.
We mixed
Michelle's new modern conveniences with her collection of antique toys and colorful
vintage dishware - she is a modern gal who loves old stuff - like the cracks in
her plaster walls! I encouraged her to fix them, but she wanted them to stay.
She likes them and says they add character to her kitchen.
New Space:
This client
was fun to work with because she was willing to take risks! At Michelle's
request, we didn't install any new upper cabinets, which results in an open,
spacious feeling. It brings attention to beautiful details like the
colorful handmade tile border from Northern Prairie and SoMi tile, chosen to
blend with the existing floor. (Visit http://www.handmadetile.com and www.somitileworks.com to learn more about these wonderful artisans and their work!)
When
designing the cabinets, I worked with a "blind corner" - that awkward
space in the corner where cabinets meet and there is typically a Lazy Susan. We
didn't have enough space for a Lazy Susan, so we built sliding drawers instead
- I call them 'magic drawers'. The front drawer pulls out and moves to the
right, giving room to pull the second drawer out from behind it. It takes what
would be wasted space and transforms it into valuable extra storage.
When
installing new countertops, the existing countertops became a
potential problem. The homeowner didn't want to remove or replace them, but the
current countertop height is higher than it was in the 1940's and would block
the window. To solve this, we retained the original counter heights in front of
each of the two windows, enabling the owner to keep her windows and create a
baking center. The countertops are Carerra marble - inspired by her travel to Italy, where she toured marble pits. She loves to bake and the lower countertop level is perfect for kneading
dough - she loves it!
A small, high
window was installed to bring in more light and floating shelves were mounted
to display the homeowner's collections. We added specially designed spaces,
such as a cabinet drawer to store their liquor bottles - we measured the
bottles to be sure they'd fit - and cabinets to hold all of their pots, pans
and utensils.
The task of
working with "no shiny surfaces" provided an interesting challenge
for me and after working on it, I'm realizing a changing trend. I think more
people are moving away from shiny and embracing more of an "earthy"
feeling.
Best
compliment:
"No
surprise, but I STILL love the kitchen! Had friends over last night - the ones
who hadn't seen the kitchen - they loved it sooooo much! They said it was
perfectly me! I said I had the best team working on, so of course it was
perfect. Just thought you'd want to know the kitchen is almost perfect. It
would be perfect if there was some kind of pullout bed so I could nap in there
too. Like an under cabinet trundle bed. . . ." -- Michele
This home is
#12 on the Minneapolis St. Paul Home Tour, running April 27- 28, 10
a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. - 5 pm on Sunday.
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