As the homeowner’s of this historic home approached the remodel of their kitchen and laundry area the importance of preserving the home’s history was at the forefront of their minds. While some changes had been made throughout the home’s lifetime in these rooms, the planned remodel constituted a major update for these rooms and presented the challenge of adding modern day amenities and comfort without sacrificing the home’s important history. The homeowners worked with Pat Ratcliff from The Ratcliff Company to design a high functioning and award winning space that paid tribute to both the home’s history and the homeowner’s own Louisiana roots. The remodeled rooms seek to marry the new with the old, creating a space that feels both fresh and timeless.
The existing floor plan in the remodeled rooms was maintained save for in the laundry room. The old laundry room took up half of a small porch like extension room off the side of the kitchen. Originally this area had served as an exterior access bathroom for the postman to use as the house was the last stop on his route. The area was eventually converted into two rooms: a laundry room and extended pantry area off of the kitchen where the refrigerator and freezer were also kept. By adjusting the location of the appliances in the remodeled kitchen, this entire area was able to be combined into an expanded laundry room that features additional storage and work space.
With the previous pantry space now closed off as part of the laundry room some slight rearranging of the kitchen's layout was required. The stove location was moved to the opposite wall and was replaced with an induction cooktop. The wall that previously housed the stove was expanded to close of the doorframe that had led to the old pantry and now houses the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry cabinet to be placed in the stove's previous location. New custom designed white cabinets were installed in the kitchen (as well as the laundry room and breakfast room). The refrigerator, freezer, and several other appliances feature custom front panels designed to match the new cabinets. The kitchen is completed with Taj Mahel countertops (also featured in the laundry room and breakfast room), a three dimensional tile backsplash, and a small island table built by the homeowner.
Attached to the kitchen is the breakfast room. To improve the flow between the two rooms the old narrow doorway was expanded to span almost the entire width of the wall in between the two rooms. Wallpaper featuring magnolia flowers, an ode to the homeowner’s Louisiana roots, lines the walls of the room. Glass fronts were included for all the upper level cabinets in the room. Also, as this was the only room in the remodel to not undergo any floor plan changes the wood flooring, original to the home, was able to be salvaged, sanded, and stained with a neutral finish. New hardwood floors had to be installed in the kitchen and laundry room but they were stained to match the salvaged floors of the breakfast room.
Honoring the home’s history was an important aspect of the renovation therefore we aimed to salvage and reuse as much of the home’s original features and details as the remodel would allow. Two areas where this was done was with the trim and windows. The original windows, some still featuring the original glass, were removed at the start of the remodel, restored, and then reinstalled with new sashes. Much of the original crown molding about the cabinets was also salvaged. It was carefully removed, stripped, and then reinstalled. New crown molding designed to match the original was used to fill in where needed.
Check out more photos from this project below and on our Houzz page.
