Photo provided by: Studio Lite
PItsburg's historic homes are full of charm and detail, but sometimes lack the features that make them suitable for today's families. For one Shadyside couple, the unsteady layout of their 1920s Tudor home cut out the fun of whoever was cooking.
“Everyone was laughing in the study and I was preparing in the kitchen,” says the wife, who asked not to be named along with her husband. She said, “The flow wasn't working, the functions weren't working. I felt left out.”
The couple began imagining what it would be like to move their kitchen, located at the back of the house, into a rarely used paneled addition space (formerly a cigar room).
“With the driveway, there wasn’t much room to expand or build,” the husband adds. “We didn’t have much of a choice but to move the kitchen.”
Eva Knezovich, design director at Pittsburgh-based Shelton Design/Build, which led the project, described the addition as an underutilized but beautiful space. Placing the new kitchen in the center of her two family zones brought her mother back into the fray.
“It had a nice connection between the small backyard and their main living space,” says Knezovic.
The Shelton team wanted to save the additional panels, but removing them intact proved difficult. “We decided to keep the concept and build the panels in the same style,” says Knezovic. “It feels like it's always been there.”
Homes of this vintage typically have dark cabinetry, but the design team chose a painted finish on the surrounding cabinetry to brighten up a space that doesn't receive much natural light. Bringing it all together is a kitchen island and integrated banquette with matching dark paneling.
“Adding that panel as a backdrop to the cabinetry accomplished exactly what we wanted to achieve,” says Knezovic.
The couple, who love to cook, chose high-end Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances for their kitchen. It also incorporates small details that are both fun and functional, such as a striking pink magnolia ceiling sculpture by glass artist Elizabeth Lyons, who lived during Lyons' time in Rochester, New York, where she is based. reminds me. The banquette seating provides a cozy spot for the family to watch morning cartoons on the pop-up TV or enjoy a hearty breakfast.
Shelton Design/Build also completed a mudroom and powder room with laundry facilities on site in the old kitchen. Both are perfect for families with young children. Brick floors and custom wallpaper help the utilitarian space feel elegant while blending in with the rest of the home.
For the Best of Design judges, this home's seamless blend of history and functionality made it the clear choice to win Best Kitchen of 2024.
“Most people who renovate their home or kitchen think that if they renovate it to make it look like new, it doesn't look like an old house anymore,” said judge Crystal DeCastro-Knapik, senior project designer at Vaukon. says. “What I love about this renovation is that it doesn't hide the fact that it's an old house. They keep elements of the old house echoing through the space, but making it new.”
Best of Design judge Stephen Sill of Sill Architecture in Cleveland noted that the outline of the Aussie countertop's edges caught his eye. It was one of many elements reflective of the home's era incorporated by Shelton Design/Architecture.
“It has the right edge for this vintage home,” says Sill. “I like the way it combines old and new.”
Read more Winner of the Best of Design Award.
vendor
Architectural design: Franklin Krauss (Shelton Design Associates)
interior design: Eva Knezovich & Kendall Soler (Shelton Design Associates)
General contractor: Shelton Design/Build
Mechanical and air conditioning equipment: JA Sauer
Electrical: cw electrical service
Piping: Professional plumbing + heating
cabinet: green building wood products
hardware: rejuvenation
Home appliances: Voss TV and home appliances
Equipment: Brizo
Lit: Rejuvenation (Floral ceiling sculpture, Elizabeth Lyons, More Fire Glass Studio)
Flooring: allegheny mountain hardwood floors
countertop: Cambria Quartz/Top Advantage Surface
Windows and doors: marvin windows and doors
tile: artistic tiles
