Project Description
Purchased in a foreclosure, this once-glorious stick-style Carpenter
Gothic Victorian home presented more than the usual challenges,
including its most recent use as a three-apartment tenement house. This
phase of its renovation focused on the 225-square-foot kitchen, which
was not the heart of the home but “the left elbow,” says designer Lisa
Wilson-Wirth.
For instance, besides having three doorways and full-height windows
on two walls, the kitchen was (and is) the sole access point to the
floors above and below. The 7-foot 10-inch ceilings were problematic for
the 6-foot-tall owners, who love to cook and entertain. Complicating
matters, the kitchen’s petite footprint could not change.
In this
gut remodel, Wilson-Wirth and contractor Tom Nardini accomplished what
the judges called a “skillful insertion of the unexpected.” Instead of a
kitchen triangle, there are four work zones — wet work, storage,
cooking, and dining — to accommodate multiple cooks. A 36-inch-high
peninsula table creates a second work counter, and sliding door
pantries, a roll-up appliance garage, and a pull-out breakfast bar limit
obstructions.
Judges also admired the “cool juxtaposition of
materials” and “bold use of color,” including reflective products that
enhance a sense of expansiveness.