OUR WORK
Kitchen, Fireplace and Mudroom Remodel in the Old West Side, Ann Arbor
A tight 1920s kitchen became a bright, blue-and-white room that opens to the dining room through a pointed arch.
THE STORY
What the homeowners wanted, and what we found.
WHAT THEY WANTED
A kitchen with more counter space and storage that still looked right in a 1920s Old West Side house. A real connection between the kitchen and dining room. A living room fireplace with built-in storage instead of leftover shelves. And a mudroom that works for everyday coming and going.
WHAT WE FOUND
The kitchen was a narrow galley with dated cabinets, little counter space and a solid wall to the dining room. The fireplace had mismatched shelving on either side and a short mantel. The mudroom was a pass-through with nowhere to sit or hang anything. The checkerboard tile floor was in good shape, so we kept it.
HOW WE DESIGNED IT
We cut a pointed-arch opening between the kitchen and dining room, rebuilt the kitchen with two-tone cabinetry, and gave the living room fireplace proper built-ins.
THE INSPIRATION
The house itself. Every arch in the home shaped the new opening, and the checkerboard floor set the palette: crisp white, a soft blue-gray and warm brass, with a saturated blue picket tile to give the kitchen a little drama.
THE PLAN
We opened the kitchen to the dining room with a pointed-arch doorway and a barrel-vaulted passage, matching the home’s existing arches. New cabinetry runs floor to ceiling: white uppers, blue-gray lowers, brass hardware and a quartz counter, with a coffee bar and floating shelves in the arched nook. A blue picket-tile backsplash carries the color through the room. In the living room, new cabinets and a full-width mantel frame the fireplace. The mudroom got a stained bench and a painted shiplap wall with hooks.
THE OUTCOME
How it turned out
The kitchen is now the brightest room in the house. Two people can cook at once, the coffee bar lives in its own nook, and the arch frames the dining room so the two rooms finally feel like one. The living room fireplace reads as a finished wall, and coats and bags have a home by the door.
FINAL PHOTOS
The finished space.
AT A GLANCE
A Kitchen, Fireplace and Mudroom Remodel in the Old West Side
A kitchen, fireplace and mudroom remodel.
Old West Side, Ann Arbor.
Pointed-arch opening to the dining room, two-tone cabinetry, quartz counters, blue picket-tile backsplash, brass hardware, coffee bar, fireplace built-ins and mantel, mudroom bench and hooks.
THE FLOOR PLANS
What changed, and why.
We cut a pointed-arch opening between the kitchen and dining room, rebuilt the kitchen with two-tone cabinetry, and gave the living room fireplace proper built-ins.
BEFORE
AFTER
WHAT MAKES IT WORK
Three details that carry the design.
FEATURE 01
The arched nook beside the refrigerator became a coffee bar: a base cabinet, quartz counter, floating walnut shelves and the picket tile running up the wall behind it.
FEATURE 02
At the fireplace, we removed the old shelving and hearth bricks, built matching cabinets on both sides, ran a new mantel wall to wall, and added a new hearth, fireplace doors and sconces.
FEATURE 03
A deep blue picket tile runs behind the range and the coffee bar. Against white uppers, blue-gray lowers and brass pulls, it gives a small kitchen a clear point of view.
THE PROJECT
A Kitchen, Fireplace and Mudroom Remodel in the Old West Side
AT A GLANCE
A kitchen, fireplace and mudroom remodel.
Old West Side, Ann Arbor.
Pointed-arch opening to the dining room, two-tone cabinetry, quartz counters, blue picket-tile backsplash, brass hardware, coffee bar, fireplace built-ins and mantel, mudroom bench and hooks.
THE STORY
A kitchen with more counter space and storage that still looked right in a 1920s Old West Side house. A real connection between the kitchen and dining room. A living room fireplace with built-in storage instead of leftover shelves. And a mudroom that works for everyday coming and going.
HOW WE DESIGNED IT
We opened the kitchen to the dining room with a pointed-arch doorway and a barrel-vaulted passage, matching the home’s existing arches. New cabinetry runs floor to ceiling: white uppers, blue-gray lowers, brass hardware and a quartz counter, with a coffee bar and floating shelves in the arched nook. A blue picket-tile backsplash carries the color through the room. In the living room, new cabinets and a full-width mantel frame the fireplace. The mudroom got a stained bench and a painted shiplap wall with hooks.
