Master Design Award Winner

2009 (Fort Atkinson, WI)- Wentworth, Inc. has been named a winner in the prestigious 31st Annual Qualified Remodeler (QR) Master Design Awards Contest. Wentworth, Inc. won GOLD in the Kitchen >$100,000 category.

Sponsored by Qualified Remodeler magazine, the Master Design Awards is the premier national contest recognizing outstanding achievement in residential remodeling projects in 22 categories. For information visit www.qualifiedremodeler.com.

About the Winning Project
A 1880s, end-unit, brick row house was desperately in need of a new kitchen. The old kitchen had been poorly remodeled in the 1970s and required a complete gutting to the brick walls and floor joists. The homeowners desired a new kitchen that took advantage of views into a newly landscaped rear garden, created a breakfast bar for two, an area for laptops with mail cubbies, and opened the wall between the new kitchen and dining room to make their home more suited to informal living. A rear door was relocated and made taller to suit the new cabinet layout and take-in garden views.

Challenges of this Project
The poor conditions required new framing to make the walls plumb & square, and the narrow space (11’-4” x 14’) required a careful design. The south wall has 12” deep, full height cabinets flanking a counter. A north wall accommodates all appliances, sink, and new casement window. Tight cabinet conditions required that the new rear door be repositioned which also helped with garden views.

Creative Solutions
Careful design accommodates a center island. A cherry counter top distinguishes the island from the adjacent stone countertops. Pendant lighting accents the island and leads the eye to the garden. A 12” deep wall of pantry cabinetry flanks a counter top used for laptops, mail cubbies, and cell phones. The symmetrical design is reinforced with a custom coffered-beam ceiling that accentuates the height and gives panache to an informal space.

Project Results
The overall results are exceptionally well suited to the modestly scaled historic row house. The living spaces now flow front to back – with the kitchen acting as the link to the rear garden and completes the home’s living space. Although a small scale house it now feels spacious. The new kitchen utilizes carefully planned, upscale detailing, that gives the home a sense of understated, practical luxury. All is appropriate.

Creative Solutions
Careful design accommodates a center island. A cherry counter top distinguishes the island from the adjacent stone countertops. Pendant lighting accents the island and leads the eye to the garden. A 12” deep wall of pantry cabinetry flanks a counter top used for laptops, mail cubbies, and cell phones. The symmetrical design is reinforced with a custom coffered-beam ceiling that accentuates the height and gives panache to an informal space.

Project Results
The overall results are exceptionally well suited to the modestly scaled historic row house. The living spaces now flow front to back – with the kitchen acting as the link to the rear garden and completes the home’s living space. Although a small scale house it now feels spacious. The new kitchen utilizes carefully planned, upscale detailing, that gives the home a sense of understated, practical luxury. All is appropriate.