An Old Beauty on the Avenue

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to measure the kitchen of a very beautiful home on St. Charles Avenue. The home was built in the early 1900s and has all of the fabulous details that one would expect—12 foot cove ceilings, beautiful moldings and casings, a large center hallway, fireplaces, gorgeous stairways, an original marble sink with marble turned legs, and built in hutches with fluting and egg & dart molding. Though the rest of the home is stunning, the kitchen is definitely in need of a renovation. It currently has laminate floors and countertops and a not so functional layout. There will be obstacles of course—three 8 foot tall windows that fall 28” from the floor and three doors that will not be moved. My favorite thing about the kitchen in its current state is the beautiful tin ceiling that is painted a solid color. I will suggest a decorative finish that will bring out all of the detail in the tin, but at the same time work with the colors in the new layout. I am so excited about this project. The owners are very nice people and want to retain the historic features of the house and implement them into the new kitchen design. I love working with clients that have an appreciation for the era that there home was built in. There are so many people that would rather tear down an old home than deal with all of its quirks and issues. I really do respect people that take on such projects and long for the day when I too will be able to restore an old beauty. As for the kitchen, I have been thinking about all of the possibilities pretty much non-stop since I left the house and cannot wait to finish my designs for the space.