Kitchen Hearth

The project, we call “Kitchen Hearth” consisted of the de-conversion of a typical Chicago 3 flat brick building to a single family home for a young couple. Unique to the project was the idea of centralizing the kitchen in the floor plan and having no redundant spaces. So, no formal living room and no separate table in the kitchen, no formal dining room. Instead, it all flows together and can be used in multiple levels of formality. This approach was intended to make the most of the small footprint and limited budget. Each floor is under 1,000 square feet.
Typically, these Chicago brick De-conversions consist of a rear addition as well. Doing away with this saved money for the budget and added square footage to the back yard.

Other space saving features are using a stacked washer dryer and hallway storage from ikea to act as a laundry room hall. In family room, located in the rear of the home, the wood burning fireplace (a must have from the owner) is incorporated into the rear wall and surrounded by glass. This allows the family room to be oriented in a way to create both a mudroom entryway and an open flow. Keeping the existing plumbing wall for the bathrooms saved costs as well.
The large kitchen island anchors the first floor and acts as the true center of the home. Instead of the typical layout with kitchen/family crammed together in the back, everything instead passes through the kitchen.
Careful combinations of color, material, pattern and light contribute to the character of the space while reusing knobs and other details maintain a continuity between the new owners and the history of the home’s architecture.