Kitchen of the Week: Historic Flair and Room for Two to Cook
Designers flip a kitchen and dining room to create enough space for this couple to make dinners together
This young couple’s appreciation for historic design and love of cooking didn’t jibe with the finishes in their 1990s Colonial-style home or the small work area in their kitchen. They hired Lynda and Jessica Caccamo, a mother-daughter interior design team, to help them achieve a highly functional kitchen with a historic look.
The designers opened up the kitchen to the dining room, then swapped them, putting the new kitchen in the original dining room space and vice versa. The resulting design has a traditional historic style, featuring soft green kitchen cabinetry, a large island, a dining room wet bar, ample storage and plenty of room for the couple to prepare dinner together.
The designers opened up the kitchen to the dining room, then swapped them, putting the new kitchen in the original dining room space and vice versa. The resulting design has a traditional historic style, featuring soft green kitchen cabinetry, a large island, a dining room wet bar, ample storage and plenty of room for the couple to prepare dinner together.
“The dining room already had a wonderful bay window, which worked beautifully with the kitchen sink,” Jessica says. She had new, higher windows put in the bay to accommodate the lower cabinets. The bay fills the room with light and provides an expansive view of the trees in the backyard.
Jessica and Lynda tasked their clients with collecting images of rooms they liked. “We picked up on the fact that they liked a historic look, and in particular Victorian-age ornate details,” Jessica says. “However, functionality was the most important thing to them. They wanted modern conveniences and to eke out as much storage as possible.”
A good example of this is the sink faucet. The homeowners wanted a single-handle faucet with a pull-down sprayer, but they also wanted it to have a historic look. They also wanted brass and gold tones. While most large single-hole faucets with pull-down sprayers lean more modern, the designers were able to find a tall brass model that fit the scale of the space and had traditional details.
“Our stone fabricators, 3SM Marble & Granite, did a great job,” Jessica says. “They fabricated the sink out of the same granite that we used on the countertops.”
Jessica and Lynda tasked their clients with collecting images of rooms they liked. “We picked up on the fact that they liked a historic look, and in particular Victorian-age ornate details,” Jessica says. “However, functionality was the most important thing to them. They wanted modern conveniences and to eke out as much storage as possible.”
A good example of this is the sink faucet. The homeowners wanted a single-handle faucet with a pull-down sprayer, but they also wanted it to have a historic look. They also wanted brass and gold tones. While most large single-hole faucets with pull-down sprayers lean more modern, the designers were able to find a tall brass model that fit the scale of the space and had traditional details.
“Our stone fabricators, 3SM Marble & Granite, did a great job,” Jessica says. “They fabricated the sink out of the same granite that we used on the countertops.”
The homeowners love to cook together, especially when making dinner. “We sat down with our clients and the cabinetmaker and went through many iterations of the different bells and whistles provided by cabinet inserts,” Jessica says. “Important questions we asked included how they like to plate food from the range, how they unload the dishwasher and how they like to work together. Then we placed everything accordingly. They never chose aesthetics over functionality.”
One example of this is that they chose extra counter space for prepping and working over having appliance garages or countertop cabinets. In other spots, the homeowners chose deep drawers to keep pots and pans close to the range, and they had the designers pack the island with storage.
Cabinets: Covered Bridge Cabinetry
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One example of this is that they chose extra counter space for prepping and working over having appliance garages or countertop cabinets. In other spots, the homeowners chose deep drawers to keep pots and pans close to the range, and they had the designers pack the island with storage.
Cabinets: Covered Bridge Cabinetry
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While this kitchen prioritized function over form, style was carefully considered when selecting the finishes. The first big decision was the cabinet color, which is Benjamin Moore’s Saybrook Sage. “Selecting this cabinet color was one of the first things we did with our clients,” Jessica says. “This shade helps add historic character and visual interest.”
The next decision was the countertop material, and everyone agreed they wanted some bold contrast to the cabinetry’s soft green hue. “Our clients loved the beauty, the moodiness and the historic significance of soapstone, but they didn’t like how easily it scratched,” Jessica says. “We found a granite that has the look of soapstone but is much more scratch-resistant, low-maintenance and durable.”
The designers helped their clients stay within budget with the backsplash tile choice. This is a ceramic tile with a bit of texture to it that makes it feel handmade, but it’s not. “This tile has a nice color variation and subtle texture to it,” Jessica says. Another budget saver was going with luxury vinyl tile planks that look like wood, rather than using real wood. The couple plan to grow their family here, and this product will be able to stand up to anything young children can throw at it. It’s also softer and therefore easier on the feet, shins and joints when working in the kitchen.
One place where the designers suggested a splurge was the lighting. These pendants are opaque glass and have the Victorian-era style the homeowners love.
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The next decision was the countertop material, and everyone agreed they wanted some bold contrast to the cabinetry’s soft green hue. “Our clients loved the beauty, the moodiness and the historic significance of soapstone, but they didn’t like how easily it scratched,” Jessica says. “We found a granite that has the look of soapstone but is much more scratch-resistant, low-maintenance and durable.”
The designers helped their clients stay within budget with the backsplash tile choice. This is a ceramic tile with a bit of texture to it that makes it feel handmade, but it’s not. “This tile has a nice color variation and subtle texture to it,” Jessica says. Another budget saver was going with luxury vinyl tile planks that look like wood, rather than using real wood. The couple plan to grow their family here, and this product will be able to stand up to anything young children can throw at it. It’s also softer and therefore easier on the feet, shins and joints when working in the kitchen.
One place where the designers suggested a splurge was the lighting. These pendants are opaque glass and have the Victorian-era style the homeowners love.
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The kitchen opens to the relocated dining room, which was remodeled at the same time. “One thing I’m very proud of here is that we didn’t open the rooms completely to each other. Our builder put in partition walls and a header between the two rooms that provide a sense of separation between them,” Jessica says. “It makes it feel more grand than if it was completely open.”
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The first selection the homeowners made for the dining room was the wallpaper. The designers helped them choose one that would go with the green kitchen cabinets, as they knew they would be continuing that color on the dining room’s wet bar, seen here at left.
“They knew they wanted wallpaper and they knew they wanted it to be bold,” Jessica says. “This was an early decision and an easy decision for them to make. They saw this wallpaper and instantly fell in love with it.”
The designers also helped their clients find the right dining room furniture, knowing it had to be specific. “We knew they would need bench seating on one side to maintain the 3-foot walkway between the wet bar and the table while also allowing access to the patio doors,” Jessica says. These doors slide open, so they didn’t have to accommodate door swings. The Victorian-style chandelier, another splurge, plays beautifully off the pattern in the wallpaper.
“They knew they wanted wallpaper and they knew they wanted it to be bold,” Jessica says. “This was an early decision and an easy decision for them to make. They saw this wallpaper and instantly fell in love with it.”
The designers also helped their clients find the right dining room furniture, knowing it had to be specific. “We knew they would need bench seating on one side to maintain the 3-foot walkway between the wet bar and the table while also allowing access to the patio doors,” Jessica says. These doors slide open, so they didn’t have to accommodate door swings. The Victorian-style chandelier, another splurge, plays beautifully off the pattern in the wallpaper.
The designers created a wet bar for, in order of importance, serving, storage and aesthetics. They continued the same cabinetry, cabinet color and granite countertops they used in the kitchen.
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This photo shows how nicely the partition wall and header help to delineate the dining room and kitchen from each other. At the same time, the wet bar creates a cohesive feel between the two.
The upper cabinets have reeded glass doors. “This glass suits the historic era our clients love,” Jessica says. “Also, there’s enough obscurity that everything inside doesn’t have to be perfectly neat or curated.”
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The upper cabinets have reeded glass doors. “This glass suits the historic era our clients love,” Jessica says. “Also, there’s enough obscurity that everything inside doesn’t have to be perfectly neat or curated.”
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The wet bar was also an excellent opportunity for the designers to give their clients the kind of ornate and visually interesting details they love. “They put so much faith in us and our vision,” Jessica says. “The backsplash is antiqued mirror, and the shelf has a little brass railing.”
Other details included finding just the right prep sink and faucet. The faucet has a traditional look and the sink has a hammered brass finish.
The couple couldn’t be happier that they expanded their renovation plans and swapped the two rooms. Functionally, they have plenty of room to cook dinner together in the kitchen. As for style, they can enjoy eating it together, surrounded by the Victorian-era vibes they love, in their dining room.
Others who worked on this project: Horner Millwork
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The couple couldn’t be happier that they expanded their renovation plans and swapped the two rooms. Functionally, they have plenty of room to cook dinner together in the kitchen. As for style, they can enjoy eating it together, surrounded by the Victorian-era vibes they love, in their dining room.
Others who worked on this project: Horner Millwork
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Find design and remodeling pros
Shop for your kitchen
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Medfield, Massachusetts
Size: 220 square feet (20 square meters)
Designers: Jessica and Lynda Caccamo of JL Caccamo Design
Contractor: Golden Key Construction
The existing kitchen had a small, U-shaped work area with a peninsula and an eat-in portion on the other side of the peninsula. “At first my clients wanted to work within the existing footprint of their kitchen and limit the renovation,” Jessica says. “But as we went through different proposals that accomplished that, they realized they were never fully satisfied. They’d always be left without something they really wanted, like a large island. But there wasn’t enough space within the original kitchen’s footprint to put in an island and maintain 3-foot walkways around it.”
After visiting a neighbor’s home with the same original layout, the homeowners loved that in that home, a recent renovation had opened up the kitchen and dining room to each other and flipped the two spaces. That convinced them to expand their renovation plans and do the same thing. This is the view into the new kitchen, which swapped places with their dining room.
“This was a good lesson for everyone involved,” Jessica says. “Clients can think they know exactly what they want, but as designers, it’s our job to figure out what they need and then educate and coach them. They are going to be spending a lot of money either way, so they should get exactly what they want.” When the scope of the renovation expanded, the designers kept the budget in mind with every decision. They helped the couple figure out the best places to splurge and save.
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