Whenever you have friends who are chefs and they are willing to pitch in at your parties, you want to give them a kitchen in which they’ve got room to perform their magic and they can stay a part of the activity. The kitchen and dining room in Scott Engler’s 1900 Victorian in San Francisco’s Noe Valley area didn’t function like that. The kitchen has been blocked off and not very functional, the dining room was cramped, and the sunporch was a cold, wasted area.
Engler hired Craig O’Connell Architecture to open the space whilst respecting the original design and particulars of their old residence. Here is the way the staff blended Engler’s excellent taste, the Victorian’s bones and details, and a layout that worked better for him.
Before Photo
Craig O’Connell Architecture
Engler had fallen in love with the vintage oven which came with the home, and maintaining it was an important part of the redesign. The old kitchen was filled with bits he had picked up at Ikea, but you can see that he preferred open storage, a characteristic that they kept in the remodel.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
AFTER: The largest aspect of the renovation was structural; O’Connell removed two major walls, opening up the three chambers to another and creating room for a substantial island. The two walls utilized to shut in the dining room and sunporch, which are dotted lines on the before plan (adjacent).
Pendants: Y Lighting, tile backsplash and island: Heath Ceramics
BEFORE: The dotted lines are the walls which O’Connell shot down. (Click the image to expand it.)
AFTER: Currently the kitchen, dining room and sunporch have become one open area on the back of the home.
Note: The positioning of the dining table within this program isn’t correct; it is presently in the sunroom place, at the peak of this program.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
“I am a big advocate for your design-build procedure, in which you’ve got a great general contractor and you also work out a number of the challenges onsite,” says O’Connell. “There are always difficulties, such as uneven floors, which you just can not tackle. “Matt Casey and Hibbs Hawke of divisionSF served as the general builders and built the cabinets onsite to be certain they fit nicely around the vintage stove.
The butcher block countertops offer a nice contrast to the cement on the island while maintaining the palette simple. “All these are great job surfaces and also add a warm touch to the room,” O’Connell says.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
One of the biggest changes to the kitchen is the new island, which will be roughly 31/2 by 8 feet. Engler currently has a sink within the main part of the kitchen plus a true work triangle. The former kitchen didn’t have room for a significant island. When you have a look on the wall, you can observe a number of the first Victorian wainscoting.
The window-front Sub-Zero fridge, a large splurge, continues the open-shelving feeling.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The wood for the island and counters trimming is plywood with a maple finish. The tiles come from Heath Ceramics, an iconic California firm founded in 1959. Engler got the notion to do the tile similar to this from something he had seen in the Ferry Building in San Francisco.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The island has a cast-in-place integral concrete counter and sink, with an integrated dish drain, created by Concreteworks.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The ceiling light blends the old with the new. O’Connell replaced a thin slice of crown molding around the room just below where the ceiling coves start, accentuating it with LED light strips. “This was another instance of where design-build comes in convenient; we figured out just how to make this light work with the way in which the wall bends onsite,” he says.
Before Photo
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The sink and dishwasher were in this adjoining cabinet room.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
AFTER: O’Connell kept the dishwasher and sink at precisely the same spot to spend less, and tied the layout together by using the same wood on the cabinets and shelves as in the kitchen, as well as the same backsplash material. The shelves were built to maintain a heavy load of dry products. Lean metal mounts which could barely be seen supply heavy-duty aid, yet another move by the builders lauded by O’Connell.
By the way, the owner really is this neat and organized, which explains why open shelving functions so well because of him.
Dishwasher: Fisher-Paykel
Craig O’Connell Architecture
With the wall removed, the former dining room and its own built-in cupboard now act as a living space that is open into the kitchen. The wainscoting and cupboard are first to the home and have the added detail of the crown molding LED lighting. Vintage wingback chairs plus a midcentury Nelson platform seat add to the Victorian-midcentury mix.
This space opens to the former sunroom, now the dining room.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
Before Photo
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The uninviting, uninsulated sunroom was just an enclosed porch; it was quite cold and was a wasted area, utilized only by people passing through on the road into the backyard. The wall you see here was built within an exterior wall; O’Connell had it all removed.
Before Photo
Craig O’Connell Architecture
While the team replaced the first windows and beadboard, they paid homage to the first flooring by painting them at a color very close to the original aqua. This retains the soul of the former sunroom alive.
The renovation included insulating this part of the home, which currently serves as the dining room.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
AFTER: Red cedar planks in somewhat varying widths and tones wrap the dining room. “This is another illustration of design-build in which the contractor did a fantastic job,” O’Connell says. The contractor also found Douglas fir planks that matched the original floors very nicely. These needed to cover the spot between chambers where the wall has been removed.
O’Connell got creative when it came to the windows. He contacted San Diego door firm LaCantina Doors and inquired if he could have a made-to-order entrance door system customized to 4 feet high rather than the normal 7. They open completely into the views of their backyard and town. This move saved a lot of money over using custom windows.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
As the walls came down, O’Connell realized that they were styled with beautiful old-growth redwood. Not wanting this to go to waste, he had it milled into smaller strips and added into the dining room ceiling.
Engler, whom O’Connell credits with having a great eye for layout, currently had the live-edge dining table. His buddy Luke Bartels of Woodshop SF created it the wood is claro walnut sourced from Marshall, California. Engler found the vintage Thonet chairs on eBay.
Pendant lighting: Tom Dixon Beat Lights
Craig O’Connell Architecture
The dining room includes recessed built-ins.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
There’s also a cleverly concealed dog door.
Craig O’Connell Architecture
Wainwright, a Shiba Inu, appreciates this custom signature. The back part of Engler’s home now suits Engler, his dog and the friends he likes to amuse.