1911 Folk Victorian Kitchen Renovation
1911 Victorian Kitchen Relocation
Richmond, Virginia
The Situation
The house had good bones — original heart pine floors, intact millwork, three bay windows in the kitchen, a fireplace that came with the house. What it didn’t have was a kitchen that worked. The layout was still operating as it had at the turn of the century: disconnected, storage-poor, designed for a way of living that no longer existed.
The built-in pantry was original. The floors were worth saving. The bay windows were the best thing in the room. Everything else needed rethinking.
The Move
The cooktop went into the island, moving cooking into the center of the room and orienting it toward the windows. Storage was designed to the inch — six deep drawers on one side of the island, pullouts flanking the range, a butler’s pantry under the stairs for everything that would otherwise crowd the counters. Upper cabinets were left out of the bay window wall entirely; a single shelf running across all three windows gave the room light and the plants somewhere to live.
The original built-in was painted black and paired with botanical wallpaper — black ground, copper metallic branches — chosen to work with the copper pulls. The original heart pine floors were hand-stained plank by plank and finished for a kitchen that actually gets used.
The Result
The fireplace stayed. The floors creaked in exactly the right places. The stone countertops read differently at seven in the morning than at noon, which in a kitchen with three bay windows matters more than any trend. Two people could cook together without negotiating space.
This kitchen didn’t announce itself. It settled in — like it had always been there. Which, in a way, it had.
Details Scope: Full home renovation, kitchen renovation, custom cabinetry, floor refinishing · Location: Richmond, VA
