Kitchen of the Week: A French Country Makeover in Philly
A gut remodel gives this cheery kitchen a more efficient layout and improved function
This homeowner, who loves to bake and travels often, wanted more space and a classic French design in her kitchen, part of a midcentury addition to a turn-of-the-last-century cottage. Designer Kristine Robinson wasn’t afraid to knock down walls to make it happen. The new kitchen has a roomier layout, an integrated home office and a powder room nearby.
BEFORE: The old kitchen was situated inside a midcentury addition to the home. Robinson initially wanted to give the space a face-lift, but the project quickly evolved into a full-scale tear-down operation. She knew that the previous addition had several structural problems (the floor was slanted, the space wasn’t well-insulated and got cold in the winter, and the structure was rickety), so she decided to gut the space. “We thought about keeping it and fixing it, but it made more sense to start from scratch since it wasn’t ideal to begin with,” she says.
AFTER: Robinson chose light-colored, 20-by-20-inch porcelain tile for the floor and a creamy white paint for the walls to enlarge the space. She opted for a tile floor over wood because of its durability and to maintain the kitchen’s open and airy design. “If we put a lot of wood surfaces in there, it wouldn’t have felt as French and feminine,” she says.
To stay in line with the home’s roots, she included lighting fixtures from Rejuvenation, a historic-reproduction lighting company. “All of the lighting has that historic, almost schoolhouse feel, which adds to the home’s cottage style,” she says.
To stay in line with the home’s roots, she included lighting fixtures from Rejuvenation, a historic-reproduction lighting company. “All of the lighting has that historic, almost schoolhouse feel, which adds to the home’s cottage style,” she says.
BEFORE: Space, or the lack of it, was a major issue, along with outdated finishes and appliances. “It was so tiny, and she had an ancient microwave and old electric range there,” Robinson says. The kitchen’s finishes were neutral, aside from the upper cabinets. The countertops were laminate, and the range and sink were right next to each other. The kitchen’s small U-shaped layout didn’t leave enough room for the homeowner to bake.
AFTER: Here’s the new layout. Robinson says part of the challenge in this new design was making the most of limited space. “Even though we added a bigger addition, it’s not a huge kitchen by today’s standards,” she says. “We fit a lot into a relatively small space.”
The powder room now occupies the same space that the old kitchen did. The new kitchen space is also U-shaped but has a more spread-out, efficient work triangle. Robinson also inserted a small island as an additional work surface and to provide more seating. There’s a home office with banquette seating near the back of the kitchen.
The powder room now occupies the same space that the old kitchen did. The new kitchen space is also U-shaped but has a more spread-out, efficient work triangle. Robinson also inserted a small island as an additional work surface and to provide more seating. There’s a home office with banquette seating near the back of the kitchen.
The homeowner is fond of baking, especially cookies around Christmastime. Robinson says the kitchen was designed to accommodate this hobby, from the cabinet features to the layout. “We did a lot of inserts in her cabinets specifically for her baking supplies,” she says. These inserts include spice racks, a pullout to house her KitchenAid mixer and a baking station next to the range with cookie sheets. Robinson kept the island close to the range to keep prep time efficient. “It really is a baking kitchen,” she says.
One of the homeowner’s biggest requests was an integrated home office in her new kitchen layout. The adjacent banquette, wrapped in linen in a French blue, offers a reading nook beneath the window and has drawers for file storage.
Robinson replaced the kitchen’s dated laminate countertops with Giallo Fiesta granite from Let’s Get Stone’d, a local granite shop. The backsplash features the same porcelain tile as the floors plus glass mosaic inserts that match the backsplash in the butler’s pantry. The cabinet hardware has an oil-rubbed bronze finish. Robinson also included custom treatments with inverted pleats and white trim on each of the kitchen’s windows to enhance the home’s Craftsman style.
After Robinson nixed the old addition in favor of a new one, she realized that she would have space to give the homeowner something the first floor lacked: a powder room. “What was the old kitchen is now the room’s footprint,” she says. Robinson also squeezed in a laundry room, which had previously been in the basement. “She loves the new livability of the main floor now,” she says. The powder room has bifold doors that conceal the homeowner’s washer and dryer, and is located right across from the butler’s pantry.
The butler’s pantry, which sits across from the powder room and occupies the space where the refrigerator once was, is an extension of the kitchen’s elegant design scheme. Robinson included cherry cabinets to match the hardwood and furniture in the homeowner’s dining room, and gave the area a decorative touch with a mosaic backsplash. “It’s a nice transition into the formal dining room,” she says.
See more Kitchens of the Week
See more Kitchens of the Week
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A single woman
Location: Philadelphia
Size: 250 square feet (23.2 square meters)
Designer: Kristine Robinson of Robinson Interiors
The homeowner wanted a blue-and-yellow kitchen from the get-go. “She loves the classic French style,” Robinson says. “She travels a lot, so she likes the European feel.” The bandana-style fabric on the windows was where Robinson and her client started when working on the kitchen’s color scheme. “I tell people to fall in love with a fabric first,” she says. “It’s easy to design a room around that.”
Robinson and the homeowner took the fabric to a local cabinet shop, where they decided to go with the paint color Vintage Jasmine in Wood-Mode’s Brookhaven line. The golden-yellow paint adds warmth and elegance to the space. The cabinets have raised-panel door fronts, including a paneled refrigerator.