When it came time for the owners of this Craftsman home to remodel their kitchen, they sought a feeling of openness and abundant natural light. They imagined a kitchen flowing seamlessly to the dining room, with an improved, direct connection to a new back deck and the yard beyond.

The design solution was to insert a modern, “white box” into the traditional Craftsman home. Contrasting with the traditional details of the rest of the house, the spaces within the box are articulated in a modern and minimal fashion. The intentional stylistic contrast suits the client’s design sense and adds a layer of dynamic balance to the home’s aesthetics.

The kitchen addition extends beyond the exterior wall of the house as a discrete modern form inserted into — and growing out of — the Craftsman home. To highlight this design move, the vertical siding at the exterior wall continues, interrupted only by the threshold of an operable glass wall, as it transitions from interior to exterior.

Creating a successful balance of styles requires not only elegant and careful detailing, but also high-quality craftsmanship and execution. A highly-engaged client collaborating closely with us and the construction team (who were dedicated to the art of their work), played a great role in this project’s success.

The kitchen and dining spaces of this home are now flooded with light. From one space to the next, interior and exterior rooms flow into one another, while shifting between Craftsman and modern detail and form.