 Our Bungalow in Sacramento, CA,  The renovated kitchen space, looking in from the back/side door, with a peek into the 2nd bathroom, which is a converted bedroom closet.  View in from the Living Room and front door. We converted a non-original single opening into a wider opening, with a counter height seating area. I love that we can see the original windows over the laundry now.  View of the new stove area. We raised the non-original lowered ceilings and added a hood vent. I was initially very resistant to canned lighting, but I must admit that I appreciate the end result. Updating a bungalow kitchen after over a century of (ab)use It was overdue, and we really wanted to put some love into the kitchen of our 1908 Craftsman Bungalow in Sacramento, California. When we purchased the home in 2011, the original openings from the kitchen to the hallway, living, and laundry area were all altered, and the built-in buffet features were stripped. The ceiling in the kitchen had been lowered, probably sometime in the 50's if not sooner. The cabinets were likely installed around that time. These cabinets may have worked back in the day, but the drawers didn't open or shut easily, and the cupboards were too short to hold our kitchen basics by the time we lived in the house. Also, there was no good place to put the refrigerator, so we ended up with the fridge placed next to the stove, blocking the chef from all interaction with the outside (living room) world. There was no vent for the stove, though gas was piped to that spot. The original stove would have been near the utility chimney that was covered up in the kitchen wall during a prior owner's remodel.  Visible in this photo- the cramped stove space, old linoleum floors in kitchen, patchwork pergot floors with missing pieces in the hallway, IKEA shelving over stove and items stored on top of the refrigerator to compensate for lack of cabinet space.
The kitchen itself, despite having a lovely set of original windows over the sink, and even more original windows in the laundry area to the rear, was surprisingly dark. The lowered ceilings, enclosed openings, and modern appliances really suffocated the space. Cooking was a lonely task. Our spot for a dining table was a corner of the kitchen, and with a general lack of counter or cabinet space, that was often filled with various foods and sundries, making it an unwelcome resting spot. To compound that, we had installed IKEA metal shelving on the walls above the dining table, in a desperate attempt to gain more usable storage space. This made everything even more cluttered and closed-in. It was somewhat functional, but we knew it could be better! We lived in the home for nearly 8 years before we touched the kitchen, other than the splashes of sunny yellow paint that we smoothed over the walls, which we had painstakingly peeled the old wallpaper from before we even moved in. It definitely hurt to see the one thing we had worked so hard on- getting those walls smooth and glossy, completely destroyed when the walls were torn down for the remodel. Still, our new blue pantry and broom storage area is a welcoming sight when we walk in the door, and the kitchen no longer needs the sunny yellow splashes to brighten it up, as we've gotten the actual sun back into the house. The Plan We worked with local architect Matthew Piner of Pinerworks to come up with a plan for our bungalow remodel. We knew of and regarded Matt highly due to his participation in the Preservation Committee and our local Neighborhood Association, so we were thrilled when he agreed to take our project on. We knew we wanted a kitchen remodel, I wanted to see the original windows over the laundry while working in the kitchen, and our family needed a second toilet, at minimum. We looked at the fantastical possibilities of building into the attic or basement, but none of it really made sense for our little cottage. The attic was a bit too small and short to build "livable space", and we were not willing to consider raising the house to accomodate a full basement. There are many bungalows in Sacramento that have been lifted and expanded, and I think it's a great way to get more space, update, and restore a home, but we felt strongly that our house was not a candidate for this treatment. Why ruin the perfection of bungalow row and the magic of our low-set cottage by building up and towering over the other bungalows? Why would the historic district even allow this? If we really wanted a lifted bungalow, there are many already existing to choose from in Sacramento. If, in the future, the homes around us are altered and the spell is broken, we will reconsider the "lift and expand" approach, especially since it would enable us to put the house on a new foundation. For now, we went with a plan that changes nothing that is visible from the street, and preserves the magical feeling that made us fall in love with this block, and house. We remained on our original brick foundation, and came up with a more moderate plan to update the old bungalow just enough to accomodate our modern family of 4. Our plan turned a bedroom closet into a walk-through bathroom, connecting our laundry area to our main bedroom. Our bedroom has a 9 x 9 sleeping porch attached, which was built/enclosed by Ms. Marcia Mays in about 1916. This room was functioning as the nursery, then the 2 boy's room, and is now an office, but in the plan, it is shown as a closet/dressing room. Technically, since we removed our closet, it IS the closet now, but there's room for a dresser, desk, chair, and some musical instruments, so we are resourceful with the space. Our bedroom is large enough that we are able to fit a King sized bed and a gorgeous period Armoire in it, so we don't really need to use the enclosed sleeping porch as a closet. With the removal of an old utility chimney that was behind a wall between the closet/kitchen, we gained enough room for a shower and toilet in our new bathroom. There wasn't quite room for a sink inside the small bathroom, but our new laundry sink is just outside the pocket door, so it works well for us. The plan addressed our kitchen cramped-ness by raising the ceilings, which had been lowered from their original height, and by expanding the openings to the adjacent living room and laundry room on either side of the kitchen. This allowed us more room for cabinets, pantry space, and counters while also opening up the kitchen space to the natural sunshine and historic windows. When demo began, we discovered that the original openings/doorways from the kitchen to the hall, living, and laundry had all been altered at some point. The original opening to the living room was large, in the center of the wall, and probably had a built-in feature of some sort. This confirmed my belief that the house was originally more open, before the built-ins were ripped out and the doorways covered up, and that our plan would restore that breezy "openness" that is so essential to the California Craftsman Bungalow style. This remodel was a major undertaking, and was the real instigating factor for me to do some research about the neighborhood and home's history. It felt wrong to change it significantly without knowing more about the past. We tried to honor the house's past by re-using materials and using the original design for inspiration. In the end, we're extremely satisfied with the increased livability of the floor plan, and the modern amenities that have been added, all while preserving the historic charm of our 1908 Crasftman Bungalow. A slideshow tour through our 1908 Craftsman kitchen remodel and closet/bathroom conversion. This remodel would not have been possible without these people, who deserve our eternal gratitude. Mary and Daniel Wilson- Supportive Parents Matthew Piner, Pinerworks- Architect Brian Harvey and Jenna Baird, B&B Harvey Construction- Builders 
2 Comments
|
RSS Feed