Creating an Open Kitchen and Dining Room

Older homes, especially the really old 100-year kind of homes, have such natural charm that our modern homes just don’t have. But the trade-off for that charm can be small cramped rooms. Our guests today did an amazing job transforming a small kitchen area and a separate dining area into a beautiful modern open kitchen and dining room that still matches all the other charm of the home:

Keep reading for all the details and before-and-afters of Laurel’s gorgeous space, and take a stroll down memory lane to check out these renovations we’ve shared where the homeowners had to get brave and take down a wall to create the open kitchen space of their dreams:

That’s My Letter featured on Remodelaholic

Cape 27 featured on Remodelaholic

Stable Living featured on Remodelaholic

lovetodecor8 featured on Remodelaholic

Here’s Laurel with all the beautiful details of her New Englander open kitchen and dining room:

Creating an Open Kitchen and Dining Room in an 1892 New Englander
by Laurel of SoPo Cottage

I’m Laurel and I have a passion for renovating old houses. My husband and I have done it many times in our own homes, but now we want to see if we can turn that passion into a business model.  Are we crazy? Maybe, but we want to give it a try. Through our home renovation blog, I  share our experiences as we renovate and decorate these houses for today’s modern lifestyle.  And you’ll find out whether I need to go back to my old day job!  

When we first looked at this antique, 1892 home, we knew the kitchen/dining room had lots of potential.  But taking potential to reality is a big undertaking!

• The pluses – it had a big beam going across the center, antique pine floors (under decades old, mauve carpeting), and a large adjacent room that had been used for storage.  
• The challenges –  a busy traffic pattern, several doorways and windows, structural issues, insulation problems, and a furnace flue that stuck out into the space, making it difficult for cabinet placement.

Kitchen ‘Before’

 

Kitchen ‘Before’

Modern Kitchen with Antique Details

Dining Room Plan – The new dining room also had some major changes.  We removed the old, steep staircase from the back of the room and added a mudroom and powder room next to the back door – but still kept lots of space for dining. We replaced the leaky old windows with new, energy efficient ones.  And we did critical behind the walls work – structural upgrades, electrical and insulation.  Finally, we got rid of the florescent work lights and installed recessed lighting and a new pendant chandelier.

Demo Day  – check out the old dining room light fixtures!

Special Touches – And while we made many changes, we kept all of the vintage features that we loved about these rooms.  The big beam in the kitchen stayed – and we created a chalkboard with a reclaimed wood frame from some wood we found during demolition.  The corner hutch, which we think is original to the house, is still there.  And we kept all of the wood floors that were in the house ( click here to see how the flooring was restored).  

We also added some new, contemporary touches to the space.  The backsplash has a vertical glass accent, that adds sparkle to the space.  And we splurged on some of the light fixtures.  Don’t you love the unique blend of old and new that they lend to the space?  And the stainless steel appliances are incredibly durable, but also have a sleek look to them.

• Kitchen Cabinets – Martha Stewart Cabinets from Home Depot
• Accordion Pendant Light – Pottery Barn
• Dining Room Pendant – Lowes
• Paint Color – Benjamin Moore, Green Cast
• Wood Counter Tops – IKEA

Want to see more?  Here are links to two of our completed projects:  1930’s Cottage and 1940’s Ranch to Colonial. 

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Thanks so much for sharing, Laurel! I think you are safe without your old day job — wonderful work! 🙂

If you want to see more of Laurel’s old home transformations, pay her a visit over at SoPo Cottage.