Modern Mid-Century Kitchen

Modern Mid-Century Kitchen

Barton-Arendt Kitchen Remodel

Our clients, Kristen and Anthony, came to us with their sweet, mid-century rambler home in Columbia City, looking to open up the living room into their small, compartmentalized kitchen — a very popular trend back in the day but less useful to how we live today. As such, their goal was to create a flexible dining space, open the flow of the layout, and let in more natural light.

With an out-of-state architect on the project we had to adapt our typical processes to flexible communication modes to co-create a lovely space — balancing the clients’ desires and maintaining a sustainable footprint.

Together we cultivated a gorgeous, more modern mid-century look. By combining white and fir cabinetry with integrated appliance panels can get persnickety — especially the fir. As such we brought in one of our custom cabinet builders, resulting in a high-grade, grain matching, aesthetically pleasing, and highly functional product. With the paneled appliances, warmth of the fir, higher island, and flush-mount stove vent* — the space feels more integrated into the living area and less like a kitchen. The sleek, stainless counters complimented the clean design of the cooktop and light cabinetry, integrating the mid-century minimalistic feel.

The original house design included a single kitchen door to the backyard with windows along the living room’s back wall. Swapping that for large, sliding doors created an easy flow from the indoors to utilize the outdoor space as part of their day-to-day living space; adding loads of natural light, and complimenting the warm openness of the now conjoined space.

Removing a wall has several challenges: you lose space and sometimes lose structure! To obtain the open span desired we were required to add a steel post for support. Not part of the original concept, we worked through a number of aesthetic options — from boxing it in to giving it a special finish. Ultimately Kristen and Anthony chose to just give it a clear coat finish and live with it for a bit. Oftentimes changing a finish selection down the road can create more trouble than it’s worth — as such we are usually huge advocates for choosing the end solution. In this particular case however, anything extra we could do to the post wouldn’t impact any of the other finishes — giving them the opportunity to keep the solution simple in the moment.

Solving the loss of storage space was a much more fun opportunity. The dining hutch not only added a ton of function, but also a beautiful focal point in the room. Every detail planned and executed masterfully, the hutch strategically included push latches to minimize visual distractions from the gorgeous fir and supporting the simplistic, modern mid-century design Kristen and Anthony desired.

*Surface mounted flush ceiling flush stove hoods have come a long way. It is critical, if you consider going that route, that you do extensive research and stick with a high-quality brand. A number of features need to go into that product to make it successful with the extensive amount of space from the cooking surface. The extra time and money invested in a quality mounted flush ceiling stove hood will be well worth it if that is the direction you choose to go. (See image below).

Barton-Arendt Kitchen Remodel 2
Barton-Arendt Kitchen Remodel 3
Steel Post
Love Your Kitchen, Love Your Family Remodel

Love Your Kitchen, Love Your Family Remodel

Join us for a chance to tour this beautiful kitchen remodel in Ballard

May 5, 2019 on the the Northwest Green Home Tour! 

This family was unhappy with the layout of their existing kitchen. They needed a new kitchen that encouraged social cooking within the family, better storage solutions, and more counter top space. The goal of the project was to create a space where, while one person cooks, the other can occupy the same space to keep each other company.

Through the collaborative efforts of Entero Design and Mighty House Construction, we worked within the existing footprint of their kitchen to create a space that fit their design aesthetic and their personal needs. Entero Design worked with the clients to develop a kitchen layout that encouraged socialization between the couple and incorporated a variety of sustainable finishes and materials to make the space unique. To gain more kitchen space, the unconditioned back porch was enclosed and incorporated into the kitchen space, enlarging the kitchen by a few feet.

 

Mighty House Construction handled the construction process for the project. We were able to keep the pre-existing exterior stairs and reuse the interior kitchen doors. The old flooring was replaced with Marmoleum, a natural linoleum made from linseed oil and mixed with other natural products on a jute backing. The new counter tops are made from Paperstone, a solid surface counter top made from recycled paper, and the newly installed cabinets are from Canyon Creek, a local cabinet company in Monroe, WA whose wood products are Carb2 compliant. The beautiful new back-splash features Bedrock Recycled Glass tile made in Seattle from 100% recycled glass product. The space also features newly installed LED overhead lighting, and under-cabinet lighting from  Northwest LED.

Phinney Kitchen Remodel

Phinney Kitchen Remodel

A few years back, the owners of this Phinney Ridge home completed a fantastic addition that, however, left the old kitchen untouched, leaving it cut off from the dining room. Mighty House Construction, with the help of Entero Design, just completed this beautiful remodel that opened up the space without changing the original footprint of the kitchen. Now, the flow between the dining room and kitchen is expansive, inviting, and much more practical.

The kitchen includes cabinetry by Canyon Creek Cabinet Company that is notably low-VOC and locally made. Beautiful, man-made, quartz countertops that are heat-resistant and non-porous from Cambira were installed. The kitchen also includes custom, wood feature pieces created from salvaged wood. The flooring of the kitchen was finished with tile and was installed throughout the kitchen and the dining room.

More photos pf this beautiful kitchen remodel found here

Workshop: Big Heat for a Small Footprint

Workshop: Big Heat for a Small Footprint

Big Heat for A Small Footprint

Saturday, November 10, 2018 | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

at the Second Use SODO Store

Join us for a FREE WORKSHOP! This will be a discussion of innovative and efficient heating solutions for small and multi-use spaces that tread lightly on the planet. We will look at backyard cottages, ADUs, additions, and whole homes. We’ll also discuss hybrid heating solutions that are super comfortable and healthy, while also saving space, are less expensive to install, and have minimal impact on the environment.

Laura Elfline of Mighty Energy Solutions and Mighty House Construction will lend her expertise in both radiant heat solutions, and home remodeling and construction. So, bring your burning questions about heat!

This workshop is free, simply RSVP to: maryanne@seconduse.com to secure your spot!

Green Building Tip: Use Infrared Heat

Green Building Tip: Use Infrared Heat

Infrared radiant heat systems provide versatile warmth that is both cozy and efficient. Powered by electricity, radiant heaters directly warm humans and objects without noisy fans, bad smells, or dry air and dust blowing around your house. Imagine the immediate all-encompassing warmth that feels like stepping into the sun, when you walk into your bedroom. Radiant heating systems are flexible and can be customized for any room layout. They complement any décor by mounting on the ceiling or upper wall and become almost invisible. Below are the best solutions for heating our buildings and homes more sustainably with radiant heat:

1) Hybrid System with Ductless Heat Pump

A ductless mini-split heat pump (DHP) is a great energy-saving solution for heating larger open spaces like an open concept great room. A single unit installed high on the wall can output 12,000 BTUs and save you more than 50% on your energy bills. However, DHPs struggle to spread heat down hallways and around corners. Unless you leave the doors open all the time, DHP’s can’t effectively heat bedrooms or bathrooms. Installing a second or third DHP head means running extra piping which quickly becomes messy and costly. This is where infrared radiant heat comes to the rescue! Instead of additional DHP heads, electric radiant heaters can be installed in rooms that the DHP fails to reach. As a supplemental system, radiant heaters will provide enhanced comfort, and zone control, while complementing the unbeatable efficiency of a ductless heat pump. Radiant heat also offers much faster heating response times than a DHP (approximately 5-10 mins) because it is warming humans and objects directly.

 

2) Zone Control for the Whole House

Infrared radiant heat can effectively and efficiently heat your entire home, with 1-2 units per room. By placing a thermostat in each room, you can heat only the rooms you are using. With an average 30% energy savings over cadet or baseboard heaters1 , infrared radiant heat warms objects and surfaces in a room directly. This means everything in your space will be an even temperature and furniture will become part of the thermal mass that will continue to provide soft warmth. Thus, occupants feel warmer faster and stay warm longer, lower air temperatures, adding even more energy savings. Additionally, with no need to dry the air out to an uncomfortable heat with noisy fans, ductwork, or moving parts, radiant heaters provide superior indoor air quality for your family.

 

 

3) Avoid Extending the Furnace for an Addition

When planning an addition to your home, the question often arises of whether to extend an existing furnace system. Adding ductwork can be quite costly, involve a complicated install, and may end up being less comfortable and efficient due to heat loss from the extra ductwork. Any time you want to heat any part of the system, the entire furnace has to fire up. You also run the risk of overworking your furnace or finding out that you need to install an entirely new one. Zoned infrared radiant heat is a great alternative to a furnace extension. There is no need to install more duct work and radiant heaters are as simple to install as a ceiling light. Affordable, comfortable and efficient heat makes radiant the ideal alternative to locations that an existing furnace can’t reach. Unlike vents and ductwork, radiant heaters are completely silent, require zero maintenance, and have the longest expected lifetime of any other products on the heating market. Talk about a great long-term investment! For more information, visit mightyenergy.net