Rehab Diaries: Tales from the Hood - Remodelista
Photography by Matt Delphenich. It’s not often that a kitchen renovation is designed around the often ignored hood vent, but when Bunker Workshop’s Chris Greenawalt learned that his clients would “do whatever it took to have proper hood ventilation,” he decided it was time to embrace it. When they purchased their family home in Boston’s Beacon Hill, Greenawalt’s clients were determined to reinject an identity into the house after a series of transformations (it had gone from a single residence to a multi-family and then back again). A canopy and soffit have been built out from the window to create the architecture for the hood vent over the island. “The client wanted an eat-in kitchen with a lot of storage for small appliances and open shelving for books,” Greenawalt says. Everything, especially family life, is now centered around the kitchen island and vent hood above. Small appliances are easily accessible in a floor-to-ceiling storage cabinet. “The client uses a lot of spices in her cooking and wanted an easy pull-out spice storage solution,’ says Greenawalt. “The client was adamant that there be plenty of lighting for the kitchen area,” Greenawalt says. Greenwalt’s first drawings showed a stainless steel counter top. “We added a 4-inch thick cantilever to the eat-in area and matched the fireplace brick for the island walls to add a bit more warmth and texture to the scheme,” Greenawalt says. A busy cook likes to have utensils on hand. A bar area was created in the passage to the living room. The townhouse in the historic neighborhood of Boston’s Beacon Hill. Greenawalt’s renderings helped the clients decide materials and finishes. A view of the existing kitchen before the wall on the right was removed. A view through to the space that was previously the dining room, after the walls and bathroom have been removed. A diagrammatic plan showing the kitchen and dining room, which became the main focus of Greenawalt’s work in the transformation of the house. The new plan of the kitchen showing the new position of the bathroom by the bar area.