A Small Kitchen Becomes a Spacious and Modern Oasis
The 1928 Colonial in Druid Hills, Georgia, had a lot of positive characteristics—including its location in a historic neighborhood designed by Frederick Law Olmsted—but the kitchen was not one of them. “The original space wasn’t large enough to fit modern appliances,” says architect Ili Hidalgo-Nilsson of the Georgia firmTerracotta Design Build. Her goal was to create a new kitchen for the clients, who live in the home with their bulldog, Lucy. “They wanted an open kitchen that retained the period feel of the house,” says Hidalgo-Nilsson. She transformed the cramped room by quadrupling the space to 375 square feet, designing custom cabinets for storage, and bringing in modern materials and finishes. Here’s how Hidalgo-Nilsson’s smart design ideas resulted in the couple’s dream kitchen.
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Photo: Jeff Herr1/4The clients wanted to eliminate all upper cabinets. TheCornuFe 90range was the only cooking appliance installed, freeing up the rest of the lower cabinets for storage.
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2/4The original eight-by-ten kitchen’s materials and appliances were outdated. Hidalgo-Nilsson installed custom cabinetry, classic Venatino marble countertops, and a powerhouse cooking unit for a fresh and modern look.
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3/4Instead of hanging theCirca Lightingpendant fixtures over the island, Hidalgo-Nilsson installed them around the kitchen’s perimeter as an accent to the marble tile and casement windows. “The recessed overhead lights provides sufficient functional lighting,” she notes.
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4/4The window casements echo the period style found throughout the historic house. Hidalgo-Nilsson used black on the mullions; the tile grout and cooking range are also black to tie the kitchen together. To keep the backsplash free of electrical outlets, built-in strips were installed along the lower cabinets and island.
