Open For Living
This renovation involved four separate rooms. The function of each room needed to stay intact; however, the goal was to integrate these separate rooms into one cohesive living space with enhanced openness and communication between the spaces; particularly between the kitchen and the family room, and between the kitchen and dining room.
The former kitchen was small because the powder room was too large. It did not have an island. To make the kitchen larger, approximately 30” was taken from the powder room and given to the kitchen. This gave rise to the additional clearance needed around the island. Opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room enhanced the spaciousness of both spaces and at the same time gave much needed light to the stairs leading to the basement. Using a stunning glass and wood wall as the guardrail also contributes to the spaciousness.
The new powder room has a sleek look despite being nearly half its former size, due to the careful selection of fixtures and finishes. The focal point of the family room is the fireplace wall. Existing windows established a symmetry that was repeated with the built-in cabinets. Using wood panels to clad the walls around the windows gives the impression of a much larger wall unit. The new floor to ceiling fireplace façade was clad with limestone tile that matches the tile of the kitchen floor. Note how all the edges are mitered. A niche above the fireplace contains the TV.