Loosely interpreted

In this traditional house on a historic city street, the butler's pantry provides the transition between the older parts of the home and the more modern kitchen

View of kitchen area which features a large home, interior design, living room, real estate, room, brown, gray — View of kitchen area which features a large island that doubles as a breakfast bar, butler's pantry, cabinetry, granite countertops, oak flooring, granite backsplash, sink and nickel faucetry, appliances.

View of kitchen area which features a large cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, dining room, furniture, hardwood, interior design, kitchen, room, brown, white

View of kitchen area which features a large cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, interior design, kitchen, room, brown, orange

View of kitchen area which features a large cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, floor, flooring, hardwood, interior design, kitchen, room, wood, wood flooring, wood stain, brown

View of butler's pantry. - View of butler's cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, furniture, hardwood, home appliance, interior design, kitchen, room, wood stain, brown, gray

View of kitchen before the renovations. - View cabinetry, countertop, floor, flooring, hardwood, home, house, interior design, kitchen, property, real estate, room, wall, window, wood, red, gray

View of kitchen before the renovations. - View cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, floor, flooring, furniture, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, wall, red, gray

View of kitchen before the renovations. - View architecture, ceiling, daylighting, floor, flooring, home, house, interior design, property, real estate, room, tile, wall, window, window treatment, wood, gray

Too close a devotion to the historic or traditional qualities of a house can result in a kitchen that isn't entirely practical for a modern lifestyle.

The kitchen featured here is in a 1916 Tudor-style home that was designed by a well-known architect. Like several similar historic homes in this city neighborhood, preservation restrictions meant that any parts of the exterior of the house visible from the street house could not be altered.

The existing kitchen was small and cut off from the rest of the house; it had several windows and doors that reduced the space for storage, and it didn't suit the requirements of the owners, who enjoy cooking and entertaining.

View of butler's pantry. cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, furniture, hardwood, home appliance, interior design, kitchen, room, wood stain, brown, gray — View of butler's pantry.

To increase the available space, architects Todd Pritchett and Craig Dixon took out a wall between the kitchen and a small sun porch that had been used as an office area. Then, to gain additional wall space for storage cabinets, the lower panes of three windows along one wall of the kitchen were blocked off. Mirrors built onto the backs of the cabinets ensured that the exterior appearance of the house was not affected, says Pritchett.

"Our aim with the kitchen was to ensure it complemented the traditional style of the rest of the home, but with less ornate detailing," he says.

An existing butler's pantry was located at the axis between the hallway, dining and living rooms and the kitchen. It had a china cabinet, and the rest of the original cupboards were painted white, so new cabinetry was designed to be a loose copy, but in a slightly simpler style, says Dixon.

View of kitchen before the renovations. cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, floor, flooring, furniture, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, wall, red, gray — View of kitchen before the renovations.

In the main kitchen, the cherry and white-painted cabinet doors and drawers are in a flat-paneled Shaker style. Rather than a traditional range hood, a liner was built into overhead cabinetry and edged with a custom-made stainless steel strip to indicate, in a subtle way, that it is there.

"We have taken a traditional house and cleaned up the detailing to give the kitchen a modern touch," says Pritchett.