Hope you enjoy the warmth of home this season.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
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Hope you enjoy the warmth of home this season.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
One of the perks of offering architecture and integrated interior design services is brainstorming a color palette for both exterior and interior finishes and furnishings. The images above all pertain to a proposed interior palette at a KHS renovation/addition to a Shaker house. That's a hickory floorboard from Carlisle Wide Plank Floors in the upper-right corner, a partial shot from the cover of a Garnet Hill catalog in the lower-right corner, samples from Oliveira Textiles for a banquette cushion and pillows in the lower-left corner, and C2 Paint swatches overlapping area rug options from Restoration Hardware and Dash & Albert in the upper left. When working out a palette, one choice leads to the next, and to the next, and so on. Here we started with the Hickory flooring selection and the inspiration photo of butter-, putty-, and gray-colored ceramics. I love how these muted neutrals softly intermingle.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
This is a glimpse of an efficient work area in an open kitchen that I toured this past summer thanks to the Cape Cod Modern House Trust. It's in a small house in Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard that likely dates back to the '60's. What's cropped out of this photo to the left is a wall oven, pot-and-pan cabinet below, and open cubbie above the oven. I don't recall where the refrigerator was, perhaps on the opposite wall. I don't think there was a dishwasher.
The open air beneath the work counter/row of drawers/tray cubbies helps lend this compact work area spaciousness as does the shallow, stepped, open semi-cubbies above the counter. You may have noticed in photos I've posted of recently completed KHS projects, that I'm not a big fan of overhead cabinets. I often suggest windows or open shelves for the back-splash area and a separate pantry elsewhere instead. In this scenario, the overhead shallow shelves with built-in bookends and, in one case, plate rack dividers concisely organize easy-to-reach cooking and serving items. The taller open space above the cooktop allows the cook enough room for spoon or tong clearance when serving from a pasta or lobster pot, and provides nice visual breathing room. The succinct palette of clear-finished wood drawer faces, shelves, and counter tie in well with the wood ceiling joists and floor, and the contrasting white wall backdrop (possibly melamine) further helps the space to feel light and expansive.
If I were to incorporate a similar design in a new or renovated contemporary kitchen, I might modify it to include a dishwasher to the right of the sink with the wall oven above, and the refrigerator to the right of the dishwasher/oven stack. A tall, deep cabinet with pull-out drawers to the left of the work counter (in the location of the wall oven in the cropped photo above) could balance the dishwasher/oven stack and provide necessary storage. I might also suggest a more functional downdraft cooktop (as opposed to the unvented cooktop in the photo), venting in the wall behind the work area. Lastly, I would propose an island, mostly open below, that would provide additional prep surface, while housing a row of drawer storage and a drawer-style microwave.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
Last weekend the owners of this KHS project hosted a house-warming gathering to celebrate the completion of the renovation/addition to their 50's ranch house. Before touring the interior, neighbors, friends, and those who worked on the project, enjoyed live music in the new carport and mingled among tables brimming with potlock dishes. The homeowners described it as their first carport party. It was a drizzly day, but perfect for some interior photos before the guests arrived.
Here's a sneak peek inside. I'll head back on a sunnier day, once the landscaping is begun, to get exterior shots, too, and then post this project to the portfolio pages of the KHS website.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast
I took advantage of today's rain to capture photos inside the KHS Touisset small-house renovation/addition, now that the homeowner has had a chance to settle in. On a future sunnier day, I'll also photograph the house's exterior, and, eventually, final exterior and interior photos will be posted to the portfolio pages of the KHS website.
For now, here's a sneak peek of the interior. Enjoy.
by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast