Compact and efficient, yet stylish and open, this contemporary condominium kitchen in a late 19th-century Boston brownstone proves that a small scale is no obstacle to creating a cooking and entertaining space suitable for clients (owners of a high-end dessert bistro) who have high standards for both.
In less than 100 square feet, the new galley kitchen works within the footprint of its predecessor, a tired and dark U-shaped room that was shut off from the rest of the condo. The cure, said the judges, was “the incision of the modern.”
The wall enclosing the kitchen was removed, replaced by a wide peninsula that orients prep, cooking, and cleaning functions toward the adjacent dining and living space. On the remaining wall, tall furniture-like cabinets (manufactured by Arclinea, an Italian company, but designed by its Boston showroom) use the home's high ceilings to provide abundant additional storage space. Cabinets for lesser-used items are at the top, accessed by a lightweight ladder that is easily removed and stored.
The kitchen even includes a washer and dryer, right next to the integrated Sub-Zero refrigerator.
Category: Kitchen remodeling, $50,000–$100,000
Location: Boston
Contractor: Kevin Green, K. Green & Son, Marblehead, Mass.
Designer: Philip Guarino, Arclinea Boston