Philadelphia Story: Two Creatives Tackle Their Own Kitchen - Remodelista
Rick and Ada at their own coffee bar.
Photography by Michael Persico.
After
The space is about 200 square feet and Ada calls the layout a U with a little extra something sort of a G Of the setup she explained Workspace flow was really important We do a lot of cooking and entertaining and wanted to be able to move easily from sink...
...to stove and from island to fridge We also wanted to maximize under counter storage so we could avoid upper cabinets and keep the space feeling open and light As it turns out we have more storage than we even need with just one floating shelf around the perimeter of the room
Rick built the cabinets with the help of their friend Tim Lewis, a builder/furniture designer who has his own Philadelphia studio.
Ada and Rick bought the Viking range from a local seller on Craigslist–”it needed some updating and parts, but it was a steal at $500,” she says.
The farmhouse sink is made by Alfie and has an Essen Single-Handle Pull-Down Faucet.
Prepping the walls before they could be painted and tiled took some doing Two of the walls are structural so...
...we had to carefully chisel off the original early 1900s subway tile that was underneath the 1990s renovation Rick told us
The new subway tile is Daltile s three by six inch Rittenhouse Square design in a semigloss with gray grout and the counters are soapstone By purchasing cutoffs and seconds...
...and cutting them ourselves we got a deal at 15 square foot The espresso maker is a Gaggia Classic and the yellow mixer is from KitchenAid s Artisan Series 5
A black walnut island serves as both a prep area, grocery unloading station (the fridge stands opposite), and table.
We wanted to have a workspace that would double as an eating area for breakfast and casual dinners, and we forfeited the potential storage space of an island for the open and airy feeling of a table.”
The soapstone used on the island is heavily veined: “When we rub the counters with mineral oil, the peach and mint color in the stone really shines through,” says Ada.
The side-by-side refrigerator, positioned so it’s convenient but not prominent, is Ikea’s Nutid, and the built-in microwave next to it is also from Ikea’s Nutid line.
“The place was dingy and came with pests we had to get under control.”
Before
The first weekend of demolition.
Peeling back the layers revealed damaged wallpaper and subway tile.
