dream kitchens
A full renovation leads to a Classic re-design.
As part of their almost whole-house renovation, Martin and Kathleen Pasqualini planned to add a larger kitchen to their 1925 Tudor home. But they got bad news from Newton’s zoning board, says Dennis Lawlor, a principal of the Classic Group: “Because of the house size and the lot size, the local zoning wouldn’t let us expand the footprint.” So, says Martin Pasqualini, “Almost literally we had to tear up our original drawings and start fresh within the footprint of the house.”
The result is this sunny kitchen that extends along the back of the house and includes a casual breakfast bar. “We started with my wife’s vision,” says Pasqualini. “That got translated into architectural drawings from Classic, then shop drawings from Van Millwork.” The vision that everyone shared: that this kitchen should look like it belongs to the house. Pasqualini sums it up: “We wanted people to walk in and know it’s new but have it not look new.”
Lawlor of the Classic Group says, “The elements of the trim and molding in the rest of the house are brought into the kitchen. It feels like it’s always been there.”
Mitchell Kiluk, general manager of the custom division of Van Millwork, gives an example: “There was some old gumwood in the dining room, and the new beams in the kitchen match that. But new-growth gumwood actually wouldn’t have matched the old wood, so we used maple and toned it to match.” The beams themselves echo beams in the front of the house, and also serve as a visual trick to make the long room seem wider.
Furniture details, such as the footed cabinetry with toe-kick heaters, lend a formal feeling appropriate to the house. Paneling covers the double Fisher & Paykel DishDrawers to the left of the farmhouse sink. The window over the sink was actually moved from its original spot, Pasqualini says, “so you could look from the front door straight out to the reservoir. It also allowed us to put the 48-inch range in the proper place.” In this well-planned space, details and grand gestures combine to make a comfortable spot for the Pasqualini family, including son Michael, 7. “My wife cooks during the week,” says Pasqualini. “I tend to be the weekend ‘project’ cooker. And there’s a small bar seating area that our son loves to sit at—he takes most of his meals there.”