Designing a Tudor style kitchen with a nod to the home's exterior
The great thing about old homes is that they come with built-in character, and our 1931 Tudor home is no different. The steep clipped gable roof, brick & stucco exterior, climbing ivy, and arched front door make you feel like you're walking up to an old Tudor cottage in the English countryside. As you walk inside, the interior holds much of the same charm, but the kitchen made us pause. I'm sure that the original kitchen had tons of character when it was first built, but from the looks of the materials and appliances in the kitchen, it had most recently been remodeled in the 90s and unfortunately, no steps had been taken to match the character of the rest of the home. It was a very utilitarian remodel.
Photo of the kitchen when we moved in.
We knew that if we kept the kitchen as is, we would be doing this home a huge disservice, and as an interior designer, I just couldn't let it be. I immediately started dreaming up ideas in my head of how we could pay homage to the home's Tudor style in the kitchen. I got to measuring all of the walls so that I could draw the floor plan to see what layout would make the most sense for this kitchen.
Planning and Design Phase
Equipped with the floor plan, I was able to start playing with potential layouts. Every layout I thought of was being impeded by this wall circled in red below. It was a mostly open wall, but had a 16" tall header that cut all the way through the kitchen and was completely messing up my cabinet plans.
Original layout of the kitchen area
After doing a little exploratory surgery to the wall, we determined that it was load-bearing and a professional would need to come in and elongate the header as well as recess it into the attic. This would require a permit from the city, so I got to work detailing the new kitchen floor plan and electrical plan to submit to the city.
New layout of the kitchen area
Okay, I know what you're probably thinking, "The floor plan doesn't look all that different". Just wait. Minor changes were made in the floor plan that couldn't have been made without moving that wall and recessing the header. The magic is in the materials and the new wall and cabinet elevations. Trust me, it's GOOD!
Before I reveal the new elevations, I want to show you what I was thinking as far as materials and what I drew inspiration from.
Absolutely stunning 1920s Tudor kitchen by Whittney Parkinson Design
From the elegant inset cabinetry, to the gorgeous color combinations, to the Lacanche range, to the curved detail on the range hood - this kitchen is the stuff of dreams! I have spent years drawing up gorgeous inset cabinetry for clients and I finally wanted to bring that touch of elegance into my own home. Inset cabinetry is the most costly cabinet style to build, but you can save money in other areas to help alleviate the added cost, like simplifying the cabinet door styles and going with paint-grade cabinetry instead of stain-grade. I think that in order to be happy at the end of any project, big or small, you need to pick one or two things that you absolutely love and invest in those things. There are countless other areas where you can save to help balance things out.
We did not have the budget for a Lacanche range, but I had a very similar looking, more affordable range up my sleeve. It is the range that I always recommend to my clients when the budget isn't quite in the Lacanche or La Cornue realm, but they love that vintage look. We went with the 36" ILVE Nostalgie I range in the Matte Graphite/Brass finish. Don't get me wrong, this is still an investment, but not nearly as much of an investment as its competitors. The inset cabinetry and the ILVE range were definitely the two splurge items for this project and we were able to choose more conservative options for the rest of the materials. On to my next inspiration:
Breathtaking powder blue kitchen in Steven Gambrel's Little Glover project
Let's talk about Steven Gambrel for a second. I truly believe he is one of the great designers of our time and you can tell by studying his work that timeless interiors are intuitive for him. I love how he isn't afraid of color and his work isn't swayed by trends. He lets the surroundings of the home and the architecture of the home dictate the design. Naturally, I looked to his work to draw inspiration for our kitchen. I love everything about the kitchen in his Little Glover project - the powder blue inset cabinetry, the matching powder blue Lacanche range, the petite antique island and lighting, the wide plank wood floors, and the gorgeous curved plaster range hood. The elements that I wanted to bring into my kitchen were some iteration of the small antique kitchen island (my kitchen is very small and can't accommodate a larger built-in island), a bold color choice for the inset cabinetry, and the elegantly curved plaster hood.
Armed with this inspiration, I started building my design boards for the kitchen and searching for the perfect antique island. Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will reveal the new elevation drawings of the kitchen, the antique island, and the final design boards. In the meantime, if you have any questions about our remodel or the design process, let me know in the comments!
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