A New England Kitchen by Way of LA - Remodelista
Shortly after Abby Weintraub and Matt Manfredi bought their 1941 Hancock Park house, they watched it gobble up their savings: a new roof, furnace, pipes, wiring, and air conditioning filled their punch list. Photography by Jessica Comingore for Remodelista. Meanwhile, a small den morphed into the dining room, and by taking down a wall between it and the kitchen, Bestor created an open-plan cooking and eating setup that makes both spaces feel bigger and brighter. Lastly, she oversaw a gut renovation of the kitchen itself, mindful of Abby and Matt’s desire for a clean, high-functioning setup that looks at home in a period house: “We took the elements of a lovely 1940s kitchen and rebuilt them for now,” Bestor says. Barbara Bestor preserved the kitchen’s original steel-framed casement windows and added more. The FlowerPot Pendant Light is a 1969 Verner Panton design from LA’s A+R Store that comes in 10 colors. It’s more Magic Castle than Barcelona Pavilion.” A detail of a ship painting by Duncan Hannah rests on the mantel, the lone feature from the den that was preserved. A washer and dryer are sequestered at the far end of the kitchen, where they’re on hand but not visible from most views. Architect and owners both credit the final success of the remodel to the work of the crew headed up by contractor David King of DTK Builders, in Los Angeles. Whenever anything was deemed too expensive, Bestor pulled a new trick out of her bag. “It’s one of the most commented-on features in the kitchen,” Abby says. A detail of the Carrara-topped counter. The peninsula that extends from the counter is detailed with a bookshelf for cookbooks. The fridge–a 48-inch Kitchen Aid–stands discreetly at the back of the kitchen. A glimpse of the setup B.B.B.–Before Barbara Bestor. Formerly sectioned off behind closed doors, Bestor opened up the back stairs. They’re painted a glossy black and outfitted with a pole banister in Benjamin Moore Bumble Bee Yellow–no-nonsense New England, points out Abby, with a hit of sunny California.