Kitchen of the Week: Retro Fun and More Room to Move
A design-build firm helps Seattle-area homeowners enlarge and update their kitchen while keeping its vintage appeal
Anne Colby
9 June 2018
Houzz U.S. Editor
“After” photos by Soundview 360° Studios
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Melissa Plagemann, an opera singer, husband Alec Wilmart, a teacher and percussionist, and their daughter, Millie, 7
Location: Ballinger neighborhood of Shoreline, Washington
Size: 140 square feet (13 square meters)
Designer: Wendy Albee of Albee Interior Design
Melissa Plagemann and Alec Wilmart loved the vintage feeling of the kitchen in their 1935 Seattle-area home. But the room was not functioning well for the musician couple, who like to cook, and their young daughter. “We’ve wanted to remodel the kitchen since we moved into the home almost 10 years ago,” Plagemann says.
They turned to design-build firm Irons Brothers Construction, which worked with interior designer Wendy Albee to improve the kitchen’s layout, update its features and finishes, and add storage and counter space. The team preserved the kitchen’s fun retro look while making it more functional for everyday use and for entertaining.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Melissa Plagemann, an opera singer, husband Alec Wilmart, a teacher and percussionist, and their daughter, Millie, 7
Location: Ballinger neighborhood of Shoreline, Washington
Size: 140 square feet (13 square meters)
Designer: Wendy Albee of Albee Interior Design
Melissa Plagemann and Alec Wilmart loved the vintage feeling of the kitchen in their 1935 Seattle-area home. But the room was not functioning well for the musician couple, who like to cook, and their young daughter. “We’ve wanted to remodel the kitchen since we moved into the home almost 10 years ago,” Plagemann says.
They turned to design-build firm Irons Brothers Construction, which worked with interior designer Wendy Albee to improve the kitchen’s layout, update its features and finishes, and add storage and counter space. The team preserved the kitchen’s fun retro look while making it more functional for everyday use and for entertaining.
Before. This photo taken from the dining nook shows the existing kitchen, mudroom and door to the backyard. The cabinets, counters and sink were original to the kitchen and inadequate for the family’s needs. The refrigerator and pantry were in the mudroom, far from the food prep and cooking area.
After. Irons Brothers opened up the walls between the kitchen and the mudroom and removed a back closet to create a larger, more streamlined kitchen. The renovated kitchen features new cabinetry, countertops, backsplashes, major appliances, lighting, flooring and a new sink.
The fridge and pantry are now located on the same side of the kitchen as the new built-in dishwasher and Silgranit apron-front sink. A partial wall that is almost hidden to the left of the fridge was kept to accommodate an existing electrical panel. A floating desk is tucked into a nook next to the back door. The room retains its beautiful woodwork and most of its original windows.
“There’s so much counter and cabinet space, and it’s so much easier to keep clean and organized,” homeowner Plagemann says of their newly remodeled kitchen. “It’s amazing to be able to have several projects happening at once and more than one person working in there without feeling like we’re running into each other.”
The fridge and pantry are now located on the same side of the kitchen as the new built-in dishwasher and Silgranit apron-front sink. A partial wall that is almost hidden to the left of the fridge was kept to accommodate an existing electrical panel. A floating desk is tucked into a nook next to the back door. The room retains its beautiful woodwork and most of its original windows.
“There’s so much counter and cabinet space, and it’s so much easier to keep clean and organized,” homeowner Plagemann says of their newly remodeled kitchen. “It’s amazing to be able to have several projects happening at once and more than one person working in there without feeling like we’re running into each other.”
Designer Albee worked with the homeowners, whom she describes as “really, really fun,” to design a space that included creative, personalized touches. “They wanted to bring the kitchen into modern times with modern accessories and appliances, but they wanted it to still have a lot of character,” Albee says.
The existing kitchen featured a ’50s diner-style round table and red chairs and a schoolhouse pendant light ringed in red. The couple liked the retro look, and Albee built on that. They decided on a black, white and gray palette with red accents. “We took the red cue from the chairs that she wanted to keep and from the red band in the pendant lights,” Albee says.
They updated the diner set with a bigger rectangular table, added more retro pendants and covered the worn black-and-white linoleum with a budget-friendly commercial-grade vinyl flooring in a larger checkerboard. They set the flooring pattern on a diagonal that visually lengthens the room and is in keeping with the retro style. “The vintage feel is great and feels very ‘us,’” Plagemann says.
Wall paint: Tundra, Benjamin Moore; flooring: Philmont vinyl sheet in black and white, Armstrong Flooring; diner table and chairs: American Chairs; browse schoolhouse-style pendants
The existing kitchen featured a ’50s diner-style round table and red chairs and a schoolhouse pendant light ringed in red. The couple liked the retro look, and Albee built on that. They decided on a black, white and gray palette with red accents. “We took the red cue from the chairs that she wanted to keep and from the red band in the pendant lights,” Albee says.
They updated the diner set with a bigger rectangular table, added more retro pendants and covered the worn black-and-white linoleum with a budget-friendly commercial-grade vinyl flooring in a larger checkerboard. They set the flooring pattern on a diagonal that visually lengthens the room and is in keeping with the retro style. “The vintage feel is great and feels very ‘us,’” Plagemann says.
Wall paint: Tundra, Benjamin Moore; flooring: Philmont vinyl sheet in black and white, Armstrong Flooring; diner table and chairs: American Chairs; browse schoolhouse-style pendants
Undercabinet and recessed lighting, pale quartz countertops and white tile backsplashes brighten up the once-dark room. Light gray walls and smoke-colored cabinets were intentionally kept neutral. “We wanted the paint to be the background. We didn’t want it to have much personality,” Albee says. “We wanted people to notice the details.”
Countertops: Swanbridge, Marble collection, Cambria; sink: Ikon sink in Anthracite, Blanco; faucet: Tresa single handle in chrome, Brizo; subway tile: Artigiano in Italian Alps, Daltile; penny-round tile: Confetti in Gelido mosaic blend, Emser Tile; find more penny-round mosaic tile
Countertops: Swanbridge, Marble collection, Cambria; sink: Ikon sink in Anthracite, Blanco; faucet: Tresa single handle in chrome, Brizo; subway tile: Artigiano in Italian Alps, Daltile; penny-round tile: Confetti in Gelido mosaic blend, Emser Tile; find more penny-round mosaic tile
Those details include the patterns in the backsplashes. The subway tile has an irregular surface and a handmade look, Albee says. A thin line of penny-round tile running through the backsplash adds whimsy and unifies the space. Above the stove, Albee designed a custom tile pattern with the penny rounds and diamond tiles to suggest rising steam.
The homeowners added their own playful touch to the cabinets with the vintage bottle-cap knobs they bought on Etsy. “We love the pops of color and personality they bring to the space,” Plagemann says.
Stove backsplash: Tear Drop glassy mosaic tile in white, Domino collection, MSI, and Confetti penny-round tile in Gelido mosaic blend, Emser Tile
The homeowners added their own playful touch to the cabinets with the vintage bottle-cap knobs they bought on Etsy. “We love the pops of color and personality they bring to the space,” Plagemann says.
Stove backsplash: Tear Drop glassy mosaic tile in white, Domino collection, MSI, and Confetti penny-round tile in Gelido mosaic blend, Emser Tile
Before. Countertop space next to the stove was extremely limited. They stored spices and condiments on open shelves.
Now, counter space and cabinet storage are abundant. Spices are stored in a cabinet pullout to the right of the new induction range.
Plagemann says they have put the new kitchen to good use. “I love to cook and bake, so we’ve used the kitchen a ton since the remodel, including hosting my family for Christmas and several parties.”
Cabinets: Hampton, matte finish, painted in Smoke, Lectus
Plagemann says they have put the new kitchen to good use. “I love to cook and bake, so we’ve used the kitchen a ton since the remodel, including hosting my family for Christmas and several parties.”
Cabinets: Hampton, matte finish, painted in Smoke, Lectus
During construction, Irons Brothers discovered that the mudroom probably had once been a porch that hadn’t been remodeled correctly and that the area needed structural work. The contractor reframed the walls and replaced the corner windows with new wood-frame casement windows that can be opened to bring in fresh air. A new floating desk is for doing homework or other tasks.
Before. The back door and mudroom are located at the top of this “before” floor plan. Walls and a doorway separate the mudroom from the kitchen and eating nook. At bottom, French doors lead into the dining room. The doorway on the lower right goes to a hallway. To the right of the kitchen is a bathroom that was part of the remodel.
After. Irons Brothers removed the walls between the mudroom and the kitchen except for an area on the left where an electrical panel is housed. The fridge and sink are on the left, and the stove is on the right for an improved workflow. The countertops and cabinets on the right extend into the kitchen at different depths to accommodate a former chimney space in the wall that contains support framing for the second floor. They left the dining nook with bay window and woodwork at bottom left unchanged.
Contractor: Irons Brothers Construction
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Stash It All: Know the 3 Zones of Kitchen Storage
Find a kitchen remodeler in your area
Contractor: Irons Brothers Construction
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Stash It All: Know the 3 Zones of Kitchen Storage
Find a kitchen remodeler in your area
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Looking from a certain angle, that kitchen looks so huge with those tiles. Overall, nice work is done there.
Really charming! Great job
Cute space, love the flooring and cabs. Wish that window above the sink was a little bit lower allowing an outdoor view.