Creating a new kitchen in a traditional home
requires a balance between acknowledging the
history and delivering modern functionality. Of
course, referencing the setting can mean choosing
elements that are in the spirit of the architecture
rather than delivering a detail-for-detail match.
This early 1920s terrace house still had many
of its original features, such as access to what
was the ice box, says designer Meghan Browne.
“Needless to say, the main floor’s living
room and kitchen were in need of an update.
The existing modest galley kitchen was cut off
from the rest of the home by two intervening
rooms, used as a pantry and a rear hallway.
“To create a more open-plan kitchen, we took
the wall down between the kitchen and living
spaces, along with the small pantry and hall.”
However, with this wall removed, Browne
then had to contend with the exposed structural
posts and a dropped beam.
“We dressed these structural elements as
architectural details with a refined industrial
style,” says Browne. “The dropped beam in the
ceiling was wrapped in reclaimed barn wood
and the vertical posts were clad in reclaimed
brick from old row homes of a similar period.”
Above: With a wall between the
living zone and original kitchen
removed to create an open-plan
layout, designer Meghan Browne
chose to clad the now-exposed
structural beam and pillars in
recycled, semi-industrial materials.
The effect was sympathetic to the
1920s terraced residence.
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