Artisan Woodworking
Having spent six years remodeling their previous home, in St. Louis, Dick and Gayle Deardorff vowed they'd never remodel again. Of course, that was before they moved to Milwaukee and fell head over heals for a 1927 house blessed with vintage charm and cursed by a cantankerous kitchen. Resolve evaporated, they recruited a design-build team led by architect Bruce Johnson, and before they knew it Dick and Gayle were up to their elbows in blueprints and debris. Three and a half closets and a separate butler's pantry were annexed for extra spaced. The old kitchen was gutted down to the floor joists, up to the ceiling rafters and out to the wall studs. "There was nothing worth saving," says Gayle. "The kitchen had been remodeled at least once before, and didn't have any of the architectural detail of the rest of the house. It was dark, depressing and had hideous cabinets. We knew we had to start with a clean slate." A kitchen, no matter how glamorous, is only as good as its life-support system, so the new agenda began with an update of the wiring and plumbing. "Then came the fun part," says Galye, "Trying to work in all the features and details from magazine pictures I had collected."
Custom-made glass front cabinets were inspired by the doors in the old pantry. The Deardorffs had hoped to recycle the originals, but found that they would not accommodate the concealed hinges necessary for the frameless look the couple wanted. The kitchen revolves around an ample island topped with solid surfacing, with a handy brass rail along on side for hanging towels.
Details make the difference in the Deardorff's new kitchen. Open shelves fill in a potentially awkward gap between cabinets and the outside wall. Their thin-as-a-rail exhaust hood - with motor, light and ductwork concealed inside overhead cabinets is practically invisible. The Deardorffs chose a built-in 24-inch-deep refrigerator that would not protrude beyond the standard-depth counters. Panels matched to the cabinets extend the kitchen's concealing act.
Gayle's wish list included traditional raised-panel cabinets, fluted pendant lights over a commodious island, a wine rack, generous crown moldings, classic arches over the sink and desk area, and granite-look solid surfacing countertops. "We wanted the kitchen to have the kind of period detail of the rest of the house, " says Gayle, "but we also wanted a kitchen that worked its heart out to make life easier for us. That meant new appliances, lots of storage, yards of work space and a sensible floor plan. We weren't willing to sacrifice convenience for charm, or charm for convenience. So, we got both."
The Deardorffs almost doubled the size of their kitchen by recruiting additional space from half a bedroom closet, three other closets and a butler's pantry. By pushing back the kitchen's walls they made room for a large island an brought all the pantry's storage capacity and counterspace inside the kitchen proper. Relocating the refrigerator from the right side of the kitchen to the left side put it in close proximity to the cooktop, the oven and the sink, which created a more efficient work triangle.