IS Architecture – San Diego, CA

San Diego Historic Prairie Kitchen & Mud Room Remodel

IS Architecture, a San Diego based architecture firm, recently received the Kitchen of the Year award from San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles Magazine. The remodel was part of a historical restoration of a 1923 Prairie School style home. IS Architecture’s Ione R. Stiegler, FAIA, an architect honored for historic preservation by the American Institute of Architects’ Distinguished Practice Award, developed a plan to to reconfigure and open up the space. Along with Project Manager Robert Davidson, Ione worked closely with the homeowners created a livable design with function and style, while maintaining the historic character and integrity of the house. This is the true hallmark of this kitchen remodel.

This historic home is situated in the historic Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, CA. It was built by local master builder Martin Melhorn for future San Diego Mayor John F. Forward Jr. The house is designated as a local historic resource. The clients wished to remodel the existing 1980s era kitchen, laundry, and powder room in a way that would complement the historic character of the home. They also wanted to reconfigure the floor plan in order to achieve better flow and sight lines between the kitchen, living room, and backyard.

In order to maintain the historic character and integrity of the house, windows and doors visible from the street could not be altered. With the window and door locations predetermined, reconfiguring the layout to include a full bath, laundry room, breakfast nook, and kitchen while adding direct access to the living room and backyard proved a challenge. The design sought to capture the essence of the Prairie School style with an updated layout suited for the way we live today.

A large kitchen island featuring seating, storage, and a prep sink anchors the kitchen. The business side of the island allows the cook to connect with guests, watch television, or keep an eye on children playing in the backyard. The island and counters are topped with turtle green granite in a leathered finish. The kitchen faucets on the main farm sink feature a Waterstone Contemporary Pulldown Faucet with matching side spray and disposal switch. A Waterstone Parche Filtration Faucet completes the Suite. On the island, another Waterstone Pulldown Faucet allows for food prep. The casework features period appropriate flush inset doors and drawers. The original hardwood floors found throughout the rest of the house were matched and carried into the kitchen. A large apron front sink by Rohl takes center stage in the clean-up station. Backsplash tile includes a 1”x1” ceramic mosaic blend over the sink and 2”x6” ceramic tile in adobe over the stove. Three Harmon pendants from Restoration Hardware provide task lighting over the island while recessed lighting by Halo completes the room.

A mudroom containing a washer and dryer concealed in cabinetry as well as a bench and drop zone for the kids backpacks was created by borrowing an exterior side door that had previously opened directly into the kitchen. The mudroom also serves to separate a new downstairs bath from the main living space.

Read the full article in San Diego Home/Garden Magazine (June 2015)

About IS Architecture

IS Architecture is a highly qualified award-winning firm dedicated to the preservation and renewal of our built environment. The firm specializes in custom residential architecture and the historic restoration and adaptive reuse of existing structures, with an expertise in the technical, aesthetic, building code, and structural and agency review aspects of architectural design for historic structures and custom residences.

IS Architecture’s design philosophy is that the purpose of architecture is to create buildings that are well-built, functionally efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and appropriate to both clients’ requests and a project’s location. Scale and proportion are critical – both in the relation of the rooms to each other and the house to the property outside. Our designs are grounded on the principles of assessing a client’s needs and creating extraordinary, livable spaces which complement and maximize the site or existing structures.

IS ARCHITECTURE
5649 LA JOLLA BLVD.
LA JOLLA, CA 92037
TEL: (858) 456-8555
FAX: (858) 456-8566
info@isarchitecture.com
http://isarchitecture.com

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