The client had lots of ideas for her dream kitchen. Her space was restricted because it is a townhome and could not expand into other rooms to gain square footage. The kitchen was also quite cramped with low ceilings, soffits, and a lack of connection to the other rooms. The client loves to cook and entertain and wanted a space that would work better.
The initial challenge was a load-bearing wall that needed to be removed to create a more open concept space. The townhome sits on top of a single-story condo, so the kitchen was in the middle floor. Also, the client had built a custom bookcase in the rooms surrounding the kitchen which housed 4,000 books. This presented quite a challenge for our structural engineer as well as trying to acquire permits for the job. Permits took a whopping four months for approval! After some exploratory wall cuts, and the initial engineer visit, we started Phase 1: demolition. Once the walls were opened, we brought in the engineer for his second site visit. He was then able to make his calculations more accurately for the beam plans. Then Phase 2 began: putting in the beam and moving HVAC and a lot of electrical wiring. Phase 3 was products and all the pretty stuff! However, the biggest challenge on this project was the client - she had so many ideas, it was difficult to nail down exactly what she wanted. We decided to do the project in phases.
You can now see the kitchen from both the adjoining living space and dining room. Everything feels so light and airy and the luxury appliances are stunning.