A contemporary kitchen renovation and porch addition to a Chevy Chase colonial creates a family home for the next generation.
Sleek appliances, cherry cabinets, and a glass backsplash punctuate this modern kitchen renovation.
In 1969, two attorneys put down roots by purchasing a charming, colonial home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The dreams of renovation started immediately. “I had been talking about re-doing the kitchen since the day we bought the house,” says the homeowner. Eventually, a more contemporary-style family room was added on to the house but the kitchen remained untouched until two years ago when one of the appliances gave up the ghost.
“We had a portable dishwasher that finally died and was no longer fixable,” says the homeowner, “we were not going to buy another portable and you couldn’t install a built-in dishwasher without doing the entire kitchen.” The homeowners put in a call to Rosemarie R. Howe, of Rosemarie R. Howe Interiors, based in the District, who had worked with them on some smaller projects in the past.
“The old kitchen looked like it should have been in the Smithsonian,” says Howe, “and they wanted to do something more contemporary.” Howe knew the kitchen was beyond the help of an interior design spruce-up and she recommended the homeowners to Gilday Renovations in Silver Spring, Maryland.
View of the new built-in dark cherry pantry.
Architect Robert Laird of Gilday made a site visit and saw potential for reconfiguring the room. “There was an extra pantry space in between the kitchen and the dining room,” says Laird. “It was fairly large and separated by a non-load-bearing wall.”
The butler’s pantry wasn’t conveniently located but it was being put to good use. “We had a second fridge in there, storage for platters and dinnerware, but whatever you needed was always in the next room,” says the homeowner. The plans called for the removal of the butler’s pantry with everything in the space finding a new home in the updated cabinetry.
The design team also envisioned a better floor plan flow with the addition of a screened-in porch. “Originally we had a set of French doors opening out to a set of stone steps that lead down into the back yard,” says Laird. “The homeowners wanted the doors to open wider, so we found these aluminum sliding doors where the three panels can be stacked in front of each other.” When the weather cooperates, two of the sliding panels are opened, which extends dining and entertaining options for the space.
The homeowners also had an island on their wish list, one element that exacted a compromise. “It was a design challenge,” says the homeowner, “there’s no seating at the island, because if we did that there wouldn’t be room for the table and chairs.”
The kitchen table and chairs were incorporated into the redesign since they are original Saarinen that were collected, then painstakingly restored. The other major elements of the room were also carefully selected for specific reasons. “The slate we used for the flooring is not easily found anymore,” says Howe, “but it was picked because it matches what’s in the addition.”
Dark cherry cabinetry and granite countertops reflect the feel of the addition. Stone selection was accomplished via a shopping day at the warehouse. “That was really, really fun,” says Howe, “you go to a huge building that’s like an airport hangar where a giant machine comes over and picks up the slabs. You chose your slab, then you chose what part you want for your countertop.”
The screened porch addition is a contemporized take on the traditional shed form porch turned sideways.
The simple backsplash also found its way into the kitchen with a story. “We started looking at glass for budgetary reasons but the homeowner didn’t like the color green,” says Howe. Since even clear glass has a green tint, the design team experimented with painting the wall different colors and then putting sheets of glass in front of it till they achieved just the right look.
The homeowners moved out for seven months while the work was being completed and had a few concerns about how the new room was going to work especially in terms of the storage lost from demolishing the butler’s pantry. “We were dubious, and it was an issue,” says the homeowner, “but we actually had space to spare.”
Everyone involved had a favorite aspect of the project; the architect’s is located outside. “There was a set of stone steps leading up to the back door, we were able to preserve those by designing the new porch so it would come right to the head of the steps,” says Laird.
“The porch gave them a new way to use the house,” says Howe, “it’s a family home for the next generation and it works.” The warmth and utility of the space also rings true for the people who use it everyday. “I like the way it looks and it’s a pleasure to cook in,” says the homeowner. “And it’s an efficient space. After we moved back in, for awhile I was afraid somebody was going to show up and make me go back to old kitchen.”
Scott Sowers is a regular contributor to ChesapeakeHome.
Contacts:
Gilday Renovations: gilday.com or 301-565-4600
Rosemarie R. Howe Interiors: rosemarierhoweinteriors.com or 202-337-3884
