Lexington, KY - The first time homeowners of this Chevy Chase bungalow fell in love with their home for the same reasons many are attracted to the neighborhood: the friendly, casual community, the charming coziness of the home, the proximity to the grocery store and local restaurants.
Despite the fact that the kitchen was small, closed off and hadn't seen an update in years, the young couple enthusiastically purchased the home five years ago. Upon moving in all their belongings, they quickly realized that while the grasshopper green and pink walls of the family and dining rooms looked great with the previous owner's items, the atmosphere didn't complement their stuff at all. Further, the boxed-off kitchen and formal dining room, separated by a swinging door, were not conducive to the regular entertaining that was part of the couple's lifestyle.
Enlisting the help of Karen and Wayne Hoover of Sloan Scott Custom Cabinetry, the first step was to paint all the walls neutral colors, which immediately set a clean backdrop for both members of the couple's tastes -- she prefers clean lines and a more contemporary aesthetic; he's an avid cyclist, hiker and hobby photographer with a more earthy and rustic sensibility. After taking some time to get to know the couple, Karen determined that a marriage of the two seemingly disparate styles was not only possible, but would create a unique and striking ambiance in the early 1900s home.
Starting with the back of the house, a rickety "sleeping porch" was gutted in order to expand the kitchen, with those extra square feet allowing for a more functional, less claustrophobic space. The cabinets and appliances were completely replaced and a new island was installed -- with its dark maple finish and white, solid wood cabinetry, accented by a tumbled travertine backsplash, the kitchen is a perfect example of how the project was able to blend a clean, modern aesthetic with rustic overtones.
"People think, 'Oh, I have to stay all woodsy,' or 'I have to stay contemporary,'" Hoover said. "You can mix them. It's a great marriage of the two of them."
Hoover's plans also called for opening the space between the kitchen and the dining room as much as possible, working around a chimney that vents from the basement and stands between the two rooms. The swinging door was removed and the entry widened, and the chimney was treated like a column, cutting out a knee wall to allow for the two rooms to exist in better harmony.
The kitchen's linoleum floor was replaced with a hardwood floor that flows with the rest of the home's original floors, which were also refinished, and new lighting was installed throughout the two rooms.
With the removal of the wall and door, the kitchen is now completely visible from the front family room, which provides an unexpected bonus when the couple has guests over -- they actually relax in the family room rather than lingering in the kitchen all night.
"It was amazing how when we did the kitchen, it made the family room and living room so much more usable," said the homeowner, adding that people feel like they're still connected to what's going on in the kitchen when they are in the family room. The "wow" factor of the beautifully remodeled kitchen is visible upon first walking in the door, a factor that Hoover is particularly pleased with.
"I believe every room has to have a 'wow' to it," she said. "That's kind of our slogan for Sloan Scott: the art of wow."