It started 10 years ago, when Clark Jackson’s Porsche 911 caught on fire in his garage. The entire garage burned down, including a wall shared with the kitchen. Even though Jackson and his wife, Andrea Pfeil, rebuilt the garage, the patch job in the kitchen was pretty evident.
That wasn’t the only problem in the kitchen. The space was small and cramped. Dark wood cabinetry absorbed natural light, resulting in a dreary room. Cut off from the adjoining family room, the floor plan made entertaining difficult; hanging cabinets blocked the line of sight between the rooms. Plus, Jackson hated the tile floor, always had, from the time they bought the house 12 years ago.
Pfeil had her own name for this small space. “If you looked at the main area of the old kitchen, you noticed it was rather narrow,” Jackson explains. “My wife referred to it as her ‘one-butt kitchen’—really. We do a lot of entertaining, and often two or three butts would try to crowd into that small space.”
The couple put off remodeling for years, until one day, Pfeil spotted the countertop of her dreams. It was granite, with a very pale green cast to it and vanilla and rich colors swirling in its mineral veins. Unlike most granite countertops with polished finishes, this one had a honed finish. Pfeil was in love, and inspired.
So the homeowners hired Homeworks Construction to redesign and rebuild the kitchen. Sean Bradshaw, the company’s kitchen and bath specialist, worked closely with the couple to come up with a design that would correct existing problems while also making the space functional and beautiful. It was a back-and-forth process. “Sean is a marvelous designer,” Jackson says. “He’s very flexible. He doesn’t get his feelings hurt. If you reject something he does, he’s always got another idea.”
Bradshaw’s winning idea was to replace a support beam and its awkwardly placed post with a big glue-laminated beam that didn’t require a post. Another structural change involved pushing a wall out three or four feet, adding 32 square feet to the space. To disguise this addition, a matching cedar ceiling was removed from the existing porte-cochere and installed in the new area to create a seamless look with the rest of the kitchen. Two skylights were added, and the window over the sink was enlarged and converted into a bay window to take advantage of the magnificent valley view. That’s Bradshaw’s favorite part.
But Jackson’s favorite part is everything. “The term that I use for my new kitchen is delighted,” he exclaims. “I personally, as the cook and primary user of the kitchen, am just delighted with it.”
He adds, with a laugh, “The multiple-butt kitchen is just great.”
WHERE TO GET IT
Designer: Sean Bradshaw of Homeworks Construction Inc.
Cabinetry: Antique white on maple with brown accents by Dura Supreme
Cooktop: GE Profile 36”, from Servco Home & Appliance Showroom
Counters: Sea Foam Green granite with a honed finish, from Marmol HI
Dishwasher: GE Profile, from Servco Home & Appliance Showroom
Oven: GE Profile 27” double oven, from Servco Home & Appliance Showroom
Refrigerator: GE Monogram 42”, from Servco Home & Appliance Showroom�
