In 1958, the former owner of Katy and Dan Thomas’ stately Central West End home installed her dream kitchen. When the Thomases bought the house, three years ago, that kitchen remained, untouched by time for 60 years. What was a dream in 1958 was not functional for modern family living, nor did it fit in with the 1910 house’s architectural style. “We wanted it to fit with the Edwardian period of the home,” Katy says.
Cabinet cues
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The couple engaged Cristian Saleniuc of Intelligent Design Woodwork for the cabinets. Custom was important, Katy says, for “working around oddities.” She chose full-inset cabinetry rather than overlay for a more period-appropriate look and had it painted in Benjamin Moore’s Onyx and fitted with unlacquered brass hardware. Church Hill soapstone countertops complete the look. “We debated on the paint color,” Katy recalls, “if black would be too stark—but I wanted to pick up the black from the leaded windows.”
Double ovens
The new kitchen features a KitchenAid wall-mounted double oven with separate range, harking back to its Midcentury predecessor. “We were initially planning to keep the Midcentury kitchen, so we bought our appliances a year before we did the renovation. We had to make it work,” Katy says.
A Baking bar
A separate baking station provides deeper counter space for rolling out dough and features a pullout KitchenAid mixer and a microwave for easily melting butter or chocolate. “My daughter loves to bake, so it was a way to keep her contained in one area of the kitchen,” Katy says.
Dining details
The Thomases were hunting for a long, narrow table. “They have these old tables, called drapers’ tables, that they used for ironing or laying out draperies,” Katy says. After several unsuccessful bids on antique models, they decided to have one made. Turntech, a custom table leg turner in Pennsylvania, made the legs to their specifications; then they had local woodworking company WunderWoods create the top from reclaimed wood. The rustic table is paired with comfortable white Chippendale chairs from Restoration Hardware. Three hanging fixtures from Rejuvenation cover the length of the table, and track lighting on the ceiling illuminates the work areas.
Fashionable Floor
Greek key railings around the house inspired the border of the hexagonal tile floor. The Thomases wanted rectified tile that would lie perfectly flat, which posed a challenge because most of the hex tile produced today is pillowed. They found Heritage Tile, a company near Chicago that is one of the few manufacturers in the U.S. to still produce it. It took Northwest Tile Co. five months to complete the installation.
