Before: SW Modern Kitchen & Preliminary Design

As much as we LOVE historic homes and restoring/maintaining the original design, sometimes you do have to throw in the towel. Sometimes, it's not worth saving. (But please don't take out that original built-in! I said 'sometimes!')

The SW Modern home's kitchen was original to the house. Our clients discussed how they had some big plans for it initially: walls would be taken down, the dining and kitchen would merge into one, etc. However, as they went through the conceptual process, they found that they actually liked the kitchen as-is. Open concept is desirable for many but it's not always the right answer. The kitchen felt comfortable, warm and cozy in its original footprint. And they were spot on: good rule of thumb is don't mess with architecture when it works.

However, this did not translate to the cabinets. They were not working. Our clients were living not only with inefficient storage but with doors/drawers that were literally falling apart. We knew it couldn't be salvaged and what's more, we knew we could come up with a new design that would honor the original look and feel our clients loved while also bringing the kitchen up to speed with the rest of the house's upgrades.

Sorry for the grainy photos! Somehow I have an iPhone and still manage to take the worst photos.