Hide Everything
We all want our counters free from clutter, but then we hate digging around in the cabinet for the blender. An exercise in finding storage in unexpected places.
(Photograph by Greg Premru)
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IT'S AN ALL TOO FAMILIAR QUANDARY FOR NEW ENGLAND homeowners: How to balance a 100-plus-year-old home's charm and history with modern-day style and amenities, and how to create smart storage solutions for spaces often originally designed with little or none. LDa Architecture &
The homeowners, college professors with two young children, craved the sleek look of contemporary European cabinetry for their 1860 home, but the existing kitchen was more Pinto than
LDa architect Richard Curl's solution was to move the basement stairs under the main staircase in the entry hall, freeing his team, which included Mike Resteghini of Hopkinton-based F.H. Perry Builder and Adin Gilman of Michael Humphries Woodworking of Warwick, Rhode Island, to strip the space to a 300-square-foot shell. But to plunk down a European-style kitchen would be jarring to the feel of the home, so first Curl added moldings and architectural details to reference its history and to soften the transition from traditional to modern. "We work on a lot of homes of this period," says Curl, "so I'm well-versed in the unique challenges they present."
That meant installing a wall of paned-glass French doors running the length of the kitchen that afford ample views of the garden and an outlet to the deck. Neither modern nor conventional, the doors also serve as a touchstone for the balance between the modern styling and overall architecture. Near the side door, Curl made good use of the back of a wing of the red elm cabinetry, adding a simple bench that services the new mudroom. Above the sitting area, Knoll's Imago resin panels bolted to stainless-steel support framing reach up to the ceiling, adding lots of light.
But what about that pesky storage issue? The ultra-slick Euro look necessitates that kitchen goods are hidden from view. So Curl went MacGyver at the drafting table, eking out extra inches by capitalizing on what he calls "found space." Where a countertop backsplash might normally be, a pocket of space 15 inches deep and 15 feet wide in the wall shared by the main staircase now hides small appliances under garage-style rolling stainless Hafele doors. More than just a clever solution, the kitchen is now stylish and sharp, proving that sometimes you really can blend the new with the old.
Molly Jane Quinn is the associate editor of Design New England magazine. Send comments to magazine@globe.com.
Kitchen Design
RICHARD CURL
LDa Architecture & Interiors, 222 Third Street, Suite 3212, Cambridge, 617-621-1455, lda-architects.com
THREE TIPS FOR TAKING ADVANTAGE OF FOUND SPACE:
* Break down walls. The built-in pantry (facing page, lower left) opposite the table is an optical illusion; although it only protrudes 9 inches from the wall, the shelves inside extend another 4 inches. And the table itself (left), a huge slab of red elm, offers a stack of drawers inside the ultra-wide legs at the end nearest the sink.
* Keep your eyes peeled. In most kitchens, valuable corner storage space is lost because of what architects call "blind corners" (the area at a corner that is not easily accessed). Because this kitchen has a peninsula where a wall might normally be (rear, at left), architect Richard Curl realized he could carve out extra cupboard space (below, second from right) for the mudroom (below).
* Forget convention. When Curl discovered a large pocket of space behind the main wall that holds the refrigerator (far left, at left), he knew he needed to take advantage of it. He designed four nooks with rolling doors that not only hide countertop appliances but also electrical outlets and wiring.
