Revitalizing A Historic Home
THERE’S A LOT TO LOVE ABOUT A 125-YEAR-OLD HOME — THE HISTORY, CRAFTMANSHIP, ORNATE DETAILS, AND LOFTY CEILING HEIGHTS.
And then there are the things most of us don’t love anymore — the compact kitchens, outdated bathrooms, and not enough bathrooms. That was the case for the owners of a 1900 home built on Jewett Parkway in Buffalo, New York. Then, fate struck: A fallen tree clipped the living room located at the back of the house, and what began as a repair job turned into an opportunity to bring the home into the 21st century.
Design Resources
When Opportunity Knocks
Once the homeowners decided to do more than just repair the damage, the contractor, Shop Dog Studios, suggested they connect the living room and small mudroom that separately jutted off the back of the house. The two-story, 480-square-foot addition allowed them to create a larger kitchen, relocate the mud room, and add a laundry room and three-piece bathroom on the first floor.
Shop Dog Studios is a full-service renovation company specializing in interior finishing. The whole crew is involved in the renovation process, from the cabinetry fabrication and millwork to the interior design. “It’s a true start-to-finish team mentality,” Shop Dog Studios owner Kyle Fricke says.
A Custom Kitchen
Nobody in the 1900s could have dreamed that kitchens would become so luxurious, and this kitchen reno is proof that luxury isn’t limited to new builds. These homeowners didn’t just want modern luxury, though; they needed a kitchen that facilitated their busy lifestyle.
Lauren Kennedy, an interior designer at Shop Dog Studios, explains, “The kitchen was the initial starting point; we wanted to maximize space in there. Before, they were restricted with where everything was in comparison to each other. We capitalized on as much cabinetry and storage as we could.”
Kennedy and the Shop Dog Studios team redesigned the new space to accommodate ample custom cabinets, giving the kitchen more than double the previous storage space. To keep things light, most of the cabinets are finished with a Cotton White stain and the countertops and backsplash are a light gray with navy veining quartzite. To create contrast and a touch of modern flair, one wall of cabinets is painted Tricorn Black. Fixtures, hardware, and pendant lighting in a honey bronze finish help illuminate the space. The adjacent dining room also got a facelift with some paint, a new dining set, and a chandelier.
Bonus Rooms
The look and style of the kitchen spills into the new mudroom and first-floor bathroom. In the mudroom, the Tricorn Black finished cabinets provide striking contrast against the light tiled floor and white walls. The guest bathroom is much moodier with a black herringbone tiled floor and a black and white porcelain tiled shower.
“The laundry room was a bonus,” Kennedy said. It wasn’t in the original plan, but it was a nice surprise for the homeowners when they found out they wouldn’t have to do laundry in the basement anymore. The quality of the striking floor-to-ceiling walnut cabinetry is reminiscent of the kind of craftmanship you could expect 125 years ago.
The Primary Bath and More
On the second floor, the primary bathroom now features a walk-in steam shower lined with striking black and white porcelain tile and adorned with high-end fixtures in matte black. It’s modern, but classic enough to fit in with the rest of the home.
Also on the second floor, thanks to the addition, Shop Dog Studios was able to add a jack-and-jill bathroom between the bedrooms of two of the homeowners’ three children. That alone is a gamechanger!
History in the Making
Referencing the Darwin Martin house, built by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1909-1911, which happens to be the homeowners’ neighbor, Fricke says, “There’s a lot of good history in the neighborhood, as well as the house.” And now this family can enjoy many more years in their historic home in comfort and style.