Doing More with Less: A Townhouse Kitchen Remodel



Space Sacrificed:
An Unused Porch Before

 A tiny and dark galley kitchen in an urban townhouse usually equals a variety of daily frustrations: cramped cooking space, difficulty entertaining guests while slicing and dicing, and the cliched, yet extremely common too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen issue, among many others. Often the only solution is a smart and carefully executed remodel. That's where Wentworth came in.



Space Gained: Sunny
Kitchen Addition After

When a couple downsized from a suburban home to a 1920s historic townhouse, the tiny kitchen had to fit their lifestyle. Working within the confines of a small space has its limitations, but our clients were willing to sacrifice their back porch for additional kitchen space. This sacrifice paid off: a sunny breakfast nook with a view of the garden now sits where the porch used to be. The space is cozy, warm (thanks in large part to the kitchen's energy-efficient radiant heated floors) and sure to be enjoyed year round.


Let the Sun Shine:
The Finished Kitchen


Innovative design features maximize space elsewhere in the kitchen - from cabinets with roll-out shelving to turning unused space under a stair into a pantry. These features and the resulting open-plan kitchen fit the client's informal lifestyle, proving that you never have to sacrifice style for function or space. For more on this project, visit the Hill Rag's January Home & Gardens Feature, Making the Most of Townhouse Kitchen.

Prioritizing Your Home Remodeling Projects

By Bruce Wentworth, AIA

Homeowners are budget conscious when making home remodeling decisions. Wentworth can help you make these often difficult or confusing decisions at an in-home consultation, where priorities, design concepts, and construction issues can be clarified. Budget-minded simply means allocating financial resources in the best possible way. Excellent design solutions, coupled with quality craftsmanship and materials, are still a smart long-term home investment.

A well-located Washington area home remains a solid investment. After three decades in business, I can offer these tips to improve home value.

1. Kitchens: Kitchens more than 25 years old are functionally obsolete and aesthetically outdated. A well-designed kitchen enhances home value and improves family life.

2. Bathrooms: A well-designed master bath is an excellent investment, although cosmetically upgrading older baths will also improve home value.

3. Facades: If your home lacks curb appeal, exterior façade enhancements will add value. A new front door, windows, a front porch, or other architectural embellishments, all sensitive to your home’s architectural style, can be considered.

Thoughtful design analysis of your home makes appropriate, cost-effective remodeling decisions a reality. Call for a consultation today 240-395-0705 x 100.

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.

A Custom Painted Floor

By Bruce Wentworth, AIA

Painting your wood floors is a wonderful way to give your home variety and create a custom look. If you keep it simple it can be a cost effective way to enhance your old wood floors. If you want a more refined, detailed look it will cost a bit more.

A recent design problem involved oak floors for a kitchen and adjacent dining room. The kitchen was being remodeled with a new 9’ wide opening to visually link the dining room and gain natural light from the south facing room. Custom mahogany cabinets, and dark gray limestone counter tops, were a dressy touch for the new kitchen. The design dilemma was how to handle the wood floor finish. The homes’ existing oak floor had a medium dark stain - but continuing the stain color into the kitchen did not provide visual contrast with the cabinets; it would have been muddy. And changing to a lighter stain would have looked odd against the existing dark oak floors. Solution: paint the wood floor. Paint provided a natural break from the existing stained oak floors, and a color compliment to the new kitchen cabinets.Of course, once paint was selected we had to decide upon the color and pattern. Without too much agony, a light gray neutral color was selected because it worked well with the gray limestone counter top and complemented the mahogany cabinets. I was fortunate to know Maxine Cohen who had experience with painted floors. I knew that painting a monolithic gray would not suffice – so with the idea of a two-tone gray floor, I prepared several drawings with subtle striated patterns.

Conceptually it is a rectilinear pin wheel; a small rectangle, in a solid gray, placed as the center of the pinwheel, around which a large rectangle and a large square are placed. The square and the rectangle are differentiated by the differing widths of their stripes.

The pattern creates a gentle visual movement on the floor and never feels dead. Maxine made three test mockups to get it just right and cleverly cut rubber squeegees with different size slots (like combs) to create the stripped patterns. It worked like a charm…but took seven days to paint. The long days of taping the pattern, painting, and letting it dry to implement the detailed design was worth it - as the evidence shows.

Wentworth, Inc. earns Six NARI Metro DC Capital COTY Awards

NARI METRO DC Honors Wentworth, Inc. With Six Capital CotY Awards

Wentworth, Inc. (www.wentworthstudio.com), a residential remodeling design/build company located in Chevy Chase, Maryland was honored with six 2008 Contractor of the year (Coty) awards from the Metro DC chapter of the National Association of Remodeling Industry (NARI). Each year, Metro DC NARI members submit their best remodeling work to be considered for the Capital CotY Awards. The Capital CotY represents the best in the remodeling and design-build industry in the metro DC region.

The honors were announced at the 2008 Metro DC NARI chapter’s annual awards banquette, January 24, 2009. Wentworth, Inc.’s awards included two Grand Prizes and four Merit awards:

· Residential Addition under $250,000: Grand Prize

· Residential Kitchen over $150,000: Grand Prize

· Residential Interior $250,000 and under: Merit Award

· Residential Bath $30,000-$60,000: Merit Award

· Residential Kitchen $50,000 to $100,000: Merit Award

· Residential Exterior Specialty Merit Award

Wentworth, Inc., founded by architect Bruce Wentworth, specializes in the design and remodeling of older urban homes. Previously, Wentworth, Inc. has won five Capital COTY awards, for a total of eleven awards in the past three years:

· 2007–Grand Prize—Residential Interiors

· 2007–Honorable Mention—Residential Kitchen

· 2007–Merit Award—Residential Addition

· 2006–Honorable Mention—Residential Kitchen

· 2005–Merit Award—Residential Bath

“These awards are a tribute to the Wentworth, Inc. employees for their expertise and collaboration on every project.” -Bruce Wentworth, AIA

Contact:
Candice Carver
Wentworth, Inc.
P 240.395.0705 x108
F 240.395.0707
ccarver@wentworthstudio.com
www.wentworthstudio.com
(photos available)

2009 Trends for Interiors

2009 Color Trends

Inspired by tones to create a retreat from the stresses outside your home, color trends for 2009 are soothing and reflective of calm natural tones. Base colors create a casual attitude and neutral canvas for bright pops of color with a combination of warm and cool grays reflecting the purpose of the space. Neutrals range in vegetative and mineral shades found in nature like olive green, khaki, and bright pale blue. Contrast these with warm brown and golden leathers and woods in shades of camel, rust, and walnut to create a sense of warmth and coziness. Also, don’t be scared to brighten your home by using a play of light and dark with the use of silky pastels with vivid shades. Lavender and Yellow are your go to accent colors for the year.

To view more 2009 trends for Interiors, be sure to check out the 2009 issue of "Living Design," Wentworth's free annual newsletter. Contact us at newsletter@wentworthstudio.com to recieve a copy.

How to Create a Practical and Luxurious Town Home Kitchen

Our recent client was in the dilemma of moving into her townhome which she had purchased decades ago before being sent overseas for work assignments. She decided to rent the home and it experienced some normal neglect. Now that she has been relocated back in DC, the homeowner wanted to make a new home in her charming Queen Anne townhouse and started by remodeling the kitchen.

The home owners set out specific design parameters for upgrading the old 1970s kitchen:
• Open the kitchen to the adjacent dining room for informal living
• Take advantage of the sunny garden views
• Include a breakfast bar in the new design
• Provide ample storage
• Create a place for a laptop
• Maximize every bit of space

Meeting these goals required that the wall between the kitchen and the dining room to be opened and trimmed with molding to match the 1880s style home. At the kitchen's rear wall a larger opening was cut for new French doors with transom, which opened sight lines from front-to-back in the house, and the large glass area captures morning sunlight for a happy kitchen environment.

The new kitchen space was narrow; it measured only 11'-4" wide x 14' long. Careful design maximized the space and accommodates a long center island with a breakfast bar. The island is highlighted with three hand-blown glass pendants that lead the eye to the garden view. At the side of the island is a wall of tall 12” deep storage cabinets with central cubbies and a stone counter for a laptop. The opposite wall is fitted to be the true work area - cabinets, sink, and appliances. The tile backsplash is given aesthetic prominence with a grid of limestone and frosted glass mosaic.

A custom coffered beam ceiling unifies the design by reinforcing the kitchen's plan layout. The rectangular shape, mirroring the island, gives direction to the space, and accentuates the garden view.

Spaces flow front-to-back, with the kitchen acting as a visual link to the garden. Although a small-scale town house the design makes it feel spacious. The new kitchen was carefully planned with upscale detailing, that gives the home a sense of understated practical luxury.

To view the whole article and more pictures, be sure to check out the 2009 issue of "Living Design," Wentworth's free annual newsletter. Contact us at newsletter@wentworthstudio.com to recieve a copy.

A Townhouse Update

Not surprisingly a 19th century home often has had numerous kitchen and bath incarnations during its life. It’s not unusual to update a kitchen or bath every 20 years or so. The technology and fashions surrounding kitchens and baths change the quickest. Most homeowners remodel their kitchen or bath because the equipment and materials wear out, or the new modern products are so tempting that they choose to upgrade.

Our example home, a four level townhouse built in the 1890’s, was remodeled in the 1970’s in a way that was, then, considered up to date. Although the 1970’s design was not ideal, the concept was good because the lower two floors were set up as an income rental unit, and the upper two floors were dedicated to the owner’s residence. For 15 years this served well. Fast-forward to 2004, and the desire for a more stylish and modern home sent the homeowner hunting for a design/build team to make a transformation.

Like many townhouses remodeled in the 1970s the living space was compartmentalized. The living room was at the front, kitchen was in the middle, and a dining room at the rear. It was not well suited for entertaining. The small kitchen was placed within a walled off cube (about 11’x 8’) not suitable for entertaining, and required carrying food around to the sole dining area; so small it could only seat six.

On the upper floor, the front space, designed as a bedroom, was used as a home office. A rear master bedroom with insufficient closet space, opened onto a rear roof deck. Wedged in between the front and back bedrooms were a compartmentalized bathroom and several closets all inefficiently arranged and unattractive.

The goal for the overall design was to create a functional and stylishly modern living space for a work-from-home woman. The homeowner was open minded about having a design that was a bit ‘edgy’ as a way to express her desire for a more hip urban look. We also discussed her willingness to explore designs that were open and loft-like.

The living space was gutted and opened up. The old partitions came down. Instead of walls defining space, the new kitchen space is zoned by the placement of cherry cabinets and a lowered ceiling. The new kitchen is larger than the old, and is the visual and working hub of the living space. A new island accommodates the sink, dishwasher, ample cabinets and seating for four, and creates a visual working centerpiece. Honed black granite countertops provide a sculptural statement and pendant lighting highlights the stone. The dining room, no longer limited by walls, ebbs and flows to accommodate entertaining and the new island is often used as a central buffet. Oak floors flow uninterrupted from front to back to unify and visually expand the space. Nifty features like a stainless steel backsplash, frosted glass cabinet doors, and a column painted red give pizzazz to the design.

The upper floor bath and bedroom complex make a strong departure from the 1970’s design, toward a loft-like solution. Again, the entire floor was gutted and reconfigured. The design concept treats the new bathroom as a sculptural element placed within the larger space. Or, as some designers would say, “A room within a room.” The design scheme has two walls forming a point where they meet which is located at the top of the stairs. The pointed wall is further embellished by a vertical glass panel that admits natural light into a circular shower stall. The angled walls visually direct people toward the rear sleeping area or toward the front space used as a home office. The new design flows beautifully while having defined functional spaces for work, sleeping and bathing.

The new bathroom was cleverly laid out with a cylindrical shower stall tiled in a mosaic glass to enhance the sculptural form. Symmetrically opposite the shower stall was placed a large granite vanity flanked by cherry storage cabinets. A large wall mirror, framed in glass mosaic, visually enlarges the space and reflects the unique shower. A unifying feature is the large-scale porcelain floor tile chosen to complement the other finishes and minimize maintenance. For visual privacy a full height sliding barn door was custom detailed to screen the office space on those rare occasions when needed. However, from the master bedroom side it was agreed that no door was required to screen the bathroom.

With the many custom features, beautiful materials, and thoughtful planning the new open and loft-like spaces met the goals for the town home. The homeowner was so thrilled with the result that she hosted a party in her newly remodeled home to thank all involved.

A "Bold Move" in Kitchen Design

Alice Liao at K+BB magazine posted "Bold Move", an article about one of Wentworth, Inc.'s award winning kitchens. Be sure to check it out as it highlights one of the area's up and coming Interior Designers, Sarah Krautwurst, and the process of over coming limitations to meet a client's vision and needs.

"A Wish (or two) Come True"

In the Early Spring 2008 issue of Washington Home & Garden you can find an informative article on a recent addition and kitchen remodel by Wentworth, "A Wish (or two) Come True." Featured on page 102 of the print magazine, the article was just released online in the archives.

ASID Award

Wentworth, Inc. is proud to announce a recent kitchen remodel won an Honorable Mention in the Residential Kitchen and Bath category of the Maryland ASID 2008 Interior Design Awards with Chesapeake Home. You can see the project in the October issue of Chesapeake Home.

photo by Ron Blunt

What do a butterfly roof, an island, and a banquette have in common?

Growing families need more and better space. Such was the case for a couple in Bethesda, Maryland with a young child and a baby on the way. Their 1960s Carderock contemporary was attractive, but lacked the modern conveniences that homeowners expect today. In general, it was felt that the kitchen, dining area, and family room were smaller than they needed to be and lacked quality materials.

The original kitchen was a boring box with a door opening to the dining room and one window overlooking the back yard. There was no visual link to the family room. Worn oak veneer cabinets, plastic laminate counter tops, and torn vinyl flooring completed the 1960s era package. The home’s only table space was a small formal dining room barely able to seat six, which prompted their request for a new informal breakfast room. The tired home needed to be updated.

Kitchen Design
A design challenge was to maximize and integrate space in the kitchen with the family room, which required that an existing masonry wall between the kitchen and family room be removed and new structural steel beams/columns installed to open the space. The new enlarged kitchen layout accommodates an island with bar stools and maximizes the remaining space. A new 42” high built-in cabinet with frosted glass doors was installed that provides storage at the dining room side. Throughout the kitchen flush-front teak cabinets provide a modern lean look with a color contrast provided by the black-honed granite countertops. At the client’s request, a palette of earth-tones colors were selected for the glass tile backsplash. Three pendant light fixtures with orange tinted glass were installed above the island.

New Breakfast Room
A new breakfast room addition was designed with floor to ceiling glass on three sides that maximizes sight lines from lawn to tree top views. The new roof slopes upward toward the trees forming what is called a “butterfly” roof. The butterfly roof fits beautifully with the 1960s contemporary style architecture. The lady-of-the-house had a desire for a banquette, which was satisfied by a custom upholstered “L” shaped bench and table. We specified a special Crypton fabric which is impervious to staining. A simple table clad in Formica is lit by a large hanging fixture with a fabric shade, which forms a cozy space with a sense of closure and ample garden views.

Expanded Family Room
The clients felt that the existing family room was too small and that it was important to enlarge the space. Fortunately, the house had a 4’ wide roof overhang running along the rear wall of the family room. Capturing this additional 4’ of space for the interior made it possible to enlarge the existing family room without altering the roof. A new structural beam provides the roof support the former wall provided, and it allows for the new opening into the breakfast room addition.

Oak Flooring
It was agreed that using oak flooring throughout the remodeled space was important to unify the design. The existing family room had wide plank & peg oak flooring, but the other parts of the house had standard strip oak flooring, and the integration of the two proved tricky. To solve this problem, the design team chose to run a wide walnut border around the existing plank & peg floor that defined it and offered an honest transition to the standard oak floor used in the addition and kitchen. An added benefit of the walnut border was the ghost-like outline of the original wall locations (a respectful nod to the past structure).

Media Center, Dry Bar, and Mud Room.

A focal point of the new family room is the custom bookcase with media center, flat screen TV, and bookshelves. Equipment is housed within the lower portion of the bookcase and, when the TV is not in use, it blends unobtrusively into the surroundings. The new bookcase is centered on the family room wall opposite the kitchen. Flanking the bookcase, and somewhat tucked behind it, are the new dry bar and mud room. Unobtrusively nestled into a leftover corner of the family room is the new dry bar. Dark espresso cabinets provide storage for the owner’s barware collection and a stone countertop harmonizes with the kitchen. Located at the opposite end of the built-in bookcase is a new mudroom that efficiently acts as a hub leading to the rear garden, basement stair, and garage. The new mudroom was fitted-out with bench, cubbies for storage, and hooks for coats. A tile floor accommodates wet feet and the space was maximized for a family with children.

The new design brings together a butterfly roof at the new breakfast room with a custom banquette, and a new kitchen island to create a whole new home environment. The new remodel and addition fit seamlessly into the older home and is successful functionally and aesthetically. Every detail was considered, while every problem was solved and beautifully executed, resulting in happy homeowners and clients.

photos by Ron Blunt