Wakefield Lake Resident
Annotated Blueprint
Yellow indicates permanent structures in both the new and old spaces. Red diagonals are doorways. Red floor is oak, green floor is porcelain tile. Red lines are windows (see front elevation photos on this photostream).
New doorway at top between the bookshelf and the yellow-colored closet leads to the dining room and to the bath and bedrooms. There is an oak floor under these areas already. The doorway will be a pocket door with full-length glass so that we can keep the dog, smells, and sounds corralled when we need it and yet not isolate the kitchen when door is closed. We will need to reconcile the new floor with the old oak floor here.
Green area is front lobby and includes a long coat closet. Lobby windows are awning style overlooking driveway. Front door has full-length glass with blinds to increase natural light during daytime. In previous photos, many of the walls of this area are painted green as a test of the color. There is a door at top of green area in drawing which was the original front door position in 1951. (We retained a door here when we expanded the house into the former front step area in 1975. We will retain the hollowcore oak door at this postion for dog, smell, and sound control as well as to block view of interior of house from front door when we need to do this.) Beyond this door are the living room, another bedroom, and a deck door that is almost directly in line with this doorway. We will need to reconcile the old oak floor at this position with the new tile floor.
Stairway to basement will have windowless pocket door. Most of the time this doorway will be open to allow dog access to basement walkout, but closed when needed. Steve has redone the entire basement stairway to allow a safe, wide top step threshold before the first descending step and to even out the stair heights. This was a lot of work and it cost us the lower half of the existing coat closet (which is cut off in photo).
Pantry closet was planned to be angled but we decided to square-off the access route; door will be windowless hinged door (I would like louvers but we'll see.)
Door to garage is a steel firedoor to be painted to match something in the lobby. This door sees a lot of action because Steve works on autos in garage and washes hands in kitchen. The coat closet will have a blaze orange section. The blind cupboard corner of the kitchen abutting this closet will have an access door from inside the coat closet instead of access from the kitchen. This will allow offseason boot storage. Closet door is two sliding doors, not bifolds as shown.
We will commission a custom bookshelf in the area formerly a doorway leading to the bathroom and bedrooms at upper left in photo. A small eating table with a piece of art behind it will lie between refrigerator and bookcase--it will be viewed down the long hall from the garage, so it has to be attractive and inviting. Another piece of art will be mounted on the uninterupted wall of the pantry closet--it will be best seen from the inside of the G. Another piece of art will be positioned to the left of the awning windows in the lobby, which can be seen from stools or after entering from dining room or when removing coat in lobby.
In previous photos, the middle of walls inside of the G-shaped kitchen are painted red as a test. There are upper cupboards on the top and bottom of the G but not on window wall or peninsula. Decor of the room(s) will be eclectic: Spare Scandinavian-style pale cupboards, modern white glass pendant lights, probably "pewter" door hardware, and a minimal backsplash. All countertops will be laminate except two butcherblock 2' x 2' sections either side of the range. Art works may include a mix of Audubon birds, a Breckenridge watercolor of a heron rookery, a couple oil landscapes, and national park early photos. Display pieces on the bookshelf will include Old Sheffield Plate silver antiques and Benningtonware teapots. A wooden hayfork may make an appearance somewhere here. Lobby and desk and table chairs may be early 19th century "fancy chairs" or similar items. A repro mahogany utility cupboard will serve in the lobby under the window until we find something more suitable.
As of late May, 2010, we have come to the point where we must make some flooring final decisions. Steve will be reconciling the ceiling first (so the slop does not fall on oak floor) and then will begin laying tile and oak. We must use strong porcelain tile instead of ceramic because of the potential heaving of old fill under the house.
Because of personal preference and energy conservation, we have no recessed lights. The green area and hall toward patio have 3 successive ceiling-hugging lights. There is a matching utilitarian light to be positioned centrally off the pantry closet corner to give general light to the kitchen hall and there are two matching ceiling-hugging fixtures n the center of the G. There will be undercounter lights on the two ends of the kitchen. Three pendants will hang in front windows and two over the peninsula. A funky semi-antique small chandelier will hang over the table. Yes, that's a lot of lights. Not sure how much we will use any of them yet, but we know how much the ceiling-huggers will be workhorses because this space has so many different walkpaths. Wiring all this new stuff and removing vestigial wiring has been a challenge for Steve.
We have to have things done as much as possible for daughter Rebecca's visit from Alaska the 2nd week in June.
We bit the bullet at the end of May and commissioned someone else to put the finish on the cupboards. This will speed the work so that Steve can go to the Arctic in July.
____
Within the G, the wall on the left has two breadboards. The one next to refrigerator will make this a sandwich and toast station. It and the one under the window will also allow the countertop to expand in size to hold dishes coming and going to dinner parties in dining room. Lower left corner of G is the microwave and beverage station. Lower right corner is the baking area, with a breadboard, mixer on countertop and baking gear in drawers below. Peninsula of the G will have another breadboard and a drawer to accept peelings and such as we chop. Compost bucket goes under small sink. Double-trash is next to sink. We anticipate this to be the major veg chopping station. Although the range is simple electric range with hood above, there is access on both sides of it so two cooks should be happy. A portable induction plate can be used adjacent to range to expand cooking options during heavy use periods. We will countersink (pun!) two containers into the butcherblock to hold utensils to right of range and a large slit to hold knives left of range.
This kitchen and lobby should allow two people to enjoy it without feeling that the space is oversized, but when out of town family members come to stay for a period of time or when friends attend a party, they should be able to find a place here that is comfortable and welcoming. (Previously they were not allowed to stand about in the old kitchen.) When the muse attacks Linda and she announces a dinner party, she will no longer be restricted in the number of dishes or serving courses or wine glasses. In the summer when life is oriented toward the deck and the lake, it will be easier to move food and dishes from deck to kitchen via the hall by the green floor in the photo.
We have sacrificed a very large, beloved teak china cupboard in order to make the new entrance to the dining room. Items from it will be stored in kitchen. China, silverware, napkins, etc. will live in the lower drawers on the left side of this photo. Hope it all fits! Tablecloths were supposed to go into these drawers, but now they are designated to hang in the half-closet that was former coat closet. Flower arranging gear also will go into this closet, which still has a full-sized door on it, but someday, we may redo it as a true built-in cupboard (with attic access still in its ceiling!).
All it takes is money, time, expertise, and resolve!
Additional comment: Sept 2010...It should be noted that we extended the tile floor across the entrance to the basement. There is a nice looking piece of oak perpendicular to the walkpath, then the oak flooring that runs parallel to the front of the house.
Annotated Blueprint
Yellow indicates permanent structures in both the new and old spaces. Red diagonals are doorways. Red floor is oak, green floor is porcelain tile. Red lines are windows (see front elevation photos on this photostream).
New doorway at top between the bookshelf and the yellow-colored closet leads to the dining room and to the bath and bedrooms. There is an oak floor under these areas already. The doorway will be a pocket door with full-length glass so that we can keep the dog, smells, and sounds corralled when we need it and yet not isolate the kitchen when door is closed. We will need to reconcile the new floor with the old oak floor here.
Green area is front lobby and includes a long coat closet. Lobby windows are awning style overlooking driveway. Front door has full-length glass with blinds to increase natural light during daytime. In previous photos, many of the walls of this area are painted green as a test of the color. There is a door at top of green area in drawing which was the original front door position in 1951. (We retained a door here when we expanded the house into the former front step area in 1975. We will retain the hollowcore oak door at this postion for dog, smell, and sound control as well as to block view of interior of house from front door when we need to do this.) Beyond this door are the living room, another bedroom, and a deck door that is almost directly in line with this doorway. We will need to reconcile the old oak floor at this position with the new tile floor.
Stairway to basement will have windowless pocket door. Most of the time this doorway will be open to allow dog access to basement walkout, but closed when needed. Steve has redone the entire basement stairway to allow a safe, wide top step threshold before the first descending step and to even out the stair heights. This was a lot of work and it cost us the lower half of the existing coat closet (which is cut off in photo).
Pantry closet was planned to be angled but we decided to square-off the access route; door will be windowless hinged door (I would like louvers but we'll see.)
Door to garage is a steel firedoor to be painted to match something in the lobby. This door sees a lot of action because Steve works on autos in garage and washes hands in kitchen. The coat closet will have a blaze orange section. The blind cupboard corner of the kitchen abutting this closet will have an access door from inside the coat closet instead of access from the kitchen. This will allow offseason boot storage. Closet door is two sliding doors, not bifolds as shown.
We will commission a custom bookshelf in the area formerly a doorway leading to the bathroom and bedrooms at upper left in photo. A small eating table with a piece of art behind it will lie between refrigerator and bookcase--it will be viewed down the long hall from the garage, so it has to be attractive and inviting. Another piece of art will be mounted on the uninterupted wall of the pantry closet--it will be best seen from the inside of the G. Another piece of art will be positioned to the left of the awning windows in the lobby, which can be seen from stools or after entering from dining room or when removing coat in lobby.
In previous photos, the middle of walls inside of the G-shaped kitchen are painted red as a test. There are upper cupboards on the top and bottom of the G but not on window wall or peninsula. Decor of the room(s) will be eclectic: Spare Scandinavian-style pale cupboards, modern white glass pendant lights, probably "pewter" door hardware, and a minimal backsplash. All countertops will be laminate except two butcherblock 2' x 2' sections either side of the range. Art works may include a mix of Audubon birds, a Breckenridge watercolor of a heron rookery, a couple oil landscapes, and national park early photos. Display pieces on the bookshelf will include Old Sheffield Plate silver antiques and Benningtonware teapots. A wooden hayfork may make an appearance somewhere here. Lobby and desk and table chairs may be early 19th century "fancy chairs" or similar items. A repro mahogany utility cupboard will serve in the lobby under the window until we find something more suitable.
As of late May, 2010, we have come to the point where we must make some flooring final decisions. Steve will be reconciling the ceiling first (so the slop does not fall on oak floor) and then will begin laying tile and oak. We must use strong porcelain tile instead of ceramic because of the potential heaving of old fill under the house.
Because of personal preference and energy conservation, we have no recessed lights. The green area and hall toward patio have 3 successive ceiling-hugging lights. There is a matching utilitarian light to be positioned centrally off the pantry closet corner to give general light to the kitchen hall and there are two matching ceiling-hugging fixtures n the center of the G. There will be undercounter lights on the two ends of the kitchen. Three pendants will hang in front windows and two over the peninsula. A funky semi-antique small chandelier will hang over the table. Yes, that's a lot of lights. Not sure how much we will use any of them yet, but we know how much the ceiling-huggers will be workhorses because this space has so many different walkpaths. Wiring all this new stuff and removing vestigial wiring has been a challenge for Steve.
We have to have things done as much as possible for daughter Rebecca's visit from Alaska the 2nd week in June.
We bit the bullet at the end of May and commissioned someone else to put the finish on the cupboards. This will speed the work so that Steve can go to the Arctic in July.
____
Within the G, the wall on the left has two breadboards. The one next to refrigerator will make this a sandwich and toast station. It and the one under the window will also allow the countertop to expand in size to hold dishes coming and going to dinner parties in dining room. Lower left corner of G is the microwave and beverage station. Lower right corner is the baking area, with a breadboard, mixer on countertop and baking gear in drawers below. Peninsula of the G will have another breadboard and a drawer to accept peelings and such as we chop. Compost bucket goes under small sink. Double-trash is next to sink. We anticipate this to be the major veg chopping station. Although the range is simple electric range with hood above, there is access on both sides of it so two cooks should be happy. A portable induction plate can be used adjacent to range to expand cooking options during heavy use periods. We will countersink (pun!) two containers into the butcherblock to hold utensils to right of range and a large slit to hold knives left of range.
This kitchen and lobby should allow two people to enjoy it without feeling that the space is oversized, but when out of town family members come to stay for a period of time or when friends attend a party, they should be able to find a place here that is comfortable and welcoming. (Previously they were not allowed to stand about in the old kitchen.) When the muse attacks Linda and she announces a dinner party, she will no longer be restricted in the number of dishes or serving courses or wine glasses. In the summer when life is oriented toward the deck and the lake, it will be easier to move food and dishes from deck to kitchen via the hall by the green floor in the photo.
We have sacrificed a very large, beloved teak china cupboard in order to make the new entrance to the dining room. Items from it will be stored in kitchen. China, silverware, napkins, etc. will live in the lower drawers on the left side of this photo. Hope it all fits! Tablecloths were supposed to go into these drawers, but now they are designated to hang in the half-closet that was former coat closet. Flower arranging gear also will go into this closet, which still has a full-sized door on it, but someday, we may redo it as a true built-in cupboard (with attic access still in its ceiling!).
All it takes is money, time, expertise, and resolve!
Additional comment: Sept 2010...It should be noted that we extended the tile floor across the entrance to the basement. There is a nice looking piece of oak perpendicular to the walkpath, then the oak flooring that runs parallel to the front of the house.