Larger Kitchen and Dining Alcove Addition

The homeowners of this 1950s Cape Cod wanted to transform their small kitchen into a larger, more functional kitchen. Their wish list included:

• Space for two sink areas, one for food preparation and the other for clean up
• Lots of natural light with a panoramic view of their back yard
• No wall cabinets — the homeowner found wall cabinets to be imposing
• A functional island with plenty of storage
• Breakfast nook for their dining table
• Entry/exit door for the dogs to come and go via the kitchen

A new kitchen addition was designed and built to the rear of the home. A five-sided structure with many windows easily accommodated a bright new kitchen with plenty of light and a great view of the back yard. In addition, a new dining alcove provides a comfortable eating area.

The Construction Agreement with the homeowners included installation of prefabricated cabinets, but they had difficulty finding cabinets they liked. So, we custom designed, with a great deal of input from the homeowners, and hand built the cabinets from Douglas fir imported from California. The homeowners appreciated our flexibility and these “on the job site” custom made cabinets make the room. To really tie the design together, we also milled matching ceiling beams, baseboard, door and window trim.

Recessed and pendant fixtures provide excellent general and task lighting.

The former kitchen space was transformed into a new hallway library and pantry space. This new hallway allowed for two walk-in pantries, custom built on either side on the hallway with the same Douglas fir used for the cabinets. The pantries, one for food storage and the other for dinner and cookware, were creative storage solutions for the lack of wall cabinets. The doors to the pantry were frosted to hide the storage behind them, yet give them a lighter feel than would have been possible if solid wood doors had been used.

The living room and multiple columns too were trimmed with the Douglas fir wood as well as an area at the bottom of the stairs that accents the front entrance.

And what about the family dog? Not only did he get his “doggy” door, but we also added a faucet about a foot off the floor under one of the cabinets for easy filling his water bowl.

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