Magazine
Remodel Magazine: Efficient Design
Before & After – Efficient Design
Written by Andrea Cooley
Photographs by Bill Lafevor
Small can be charming. But when it comes to kitchen design, function rules. While the kitchen in Jason and Amy Hancock’s 1940s Nashville home had some charming elements, including a 5-foot-wide ceramic sink with built-in drainboards, it had little function. The layout was awkward, the room lacked counter space and storage, and it was completely cut off from the rest of the house.
Working with Eddie Redmon of Crane Builders, LLC, a member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), designer Beth Haley’s challenge was to fix those faults without adding on.
The first step was to remove the wall separating the kitchen from the dining room. “It totally changed the character of the house without adding any square footage,” Amy says. Haley borrowed 4 feet from the adjoining dining room to add a peninsula with a raised bar. She installed a downdraft range in the peninsula to keep the space above open.
To increase storage, Haley designed cabinets that extended to the ceiling. The couple also gained storage on either side of the range. The Hancocks chose materials for the kitchen that fit with the rest of the house. “We wanted something that was contemporary, that would keep things tied to the original style of the home,” Amy says. Vinyl flooring was replaced with cork that complements the refinished hardwood floors throughout the home. Amy loved the original sink, so rather than replace it, the couple had it refinished and updated with a high-arc faucet.
Amy wanted the space to resemble her mom’s old science classroom, and Jason preferred an industrial design. Natural maple cabinets, stainless-steel appliances and cabinet pulls, dark gray countertops, and a stainless-steel backsplash satisfy both. “I love the mix of materials an incorporating the old and the new,” Haley says. That combination of function and style earned the kitchen an award for excellence from NARI.