Welcome to a home that combines a remodel of a kitchen, daily entry and adjacent living areas with a deep-energy retrofit of a home. Working in collaboration with our client, this home became a one-of-a-kind expression of their personal lifestyle. Their goals of deeply cutting energy use were met with a home performance retrofit. The kitchen was transformed from a vanilla “builder spec” to a bold contemporary vision with warm, rich colors and textures throughout. Custom cabinetry designed and built by Meadowlark Builders serves as a palette for an amazing display of design and workmanship.
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YEAR REMODELED:
2009
STYLE:
CONTEMPORARY KITCHEN
CABINETRY:
STAINED BEECH
GREEN PRODUCTS:
GEOTHERMAL HEATING & COOLING
HIGH-EFFICIENCY HOT WATER HEATER
HIGH-PERFORMANCE WINDOWS
ENERGY RECOVERY VENTILATOR
SPRAY FOAM INSULATION
LED LIGHTING
HEAT RECOVERY FIREPLACE
GREEN TECHNIQUES:
HOME PERFORMANCE RETROFIT
LOW-ENERGY LIGHTING
UNIQUE FEATURES:
CUSTOM BEECH CABINETRY
BACKLIT ONYX STONE
VARIEGATED SLATE TILE
CURVED ISLAND
The existing kitchen and mudroom/laundry area in this home were not functioning well. The kitchen, attached dining nook and the living area by the fireplace made for a very large space, and yet the kitchen was cramped and difficult to use. The distance from the kitchen to other usable areas made for an empty “no-man’s land” in the middle of the room that wasn’t useful for any purpose.
Likewise, the laundry room and entry area, while ample in size, had doors crashing into each other and had no room for a good bench to take shoes off. It was awkward to use, and all the rooms were closed off to each other, making for poor sight lines.
We knew we had to integrate the kitchen into the rest of the adjacent areas. We also knew that we could make the mudroom far more functional and aesthetically pleasing. In this case, there was a wide range of possibilities. Our client had great design sense, and needed us to show her several layout possibilities and help her make a palette of colors and textures for the room.
We ultimately made seven total layouts to explore the full range of possibility. Four of the best contenders are shown in the pictures for this case study. For each, it was also important to get a sense for how the space would look when you were in it. Our 3-D design software allowed us to very easily generate line drawings to better communicate what the daily experience would be like.
Once we had settled on a floor plan, we set to work rendering this layout. Renders allow us to play with different material choices and see them before committing to anything. You can see here how we altered flooring choices, cabinetry finishes and other items. Just as important, we were able to play with lighting to find the best places to locate light fixtures.
Our client loved stone, and this remodel contains slate, granite, marble and onyx in a variety of colors and textures. Normally this could be off-putting, but these different surfaces were designed with care, and work very well together and with other parts of the remodel.
Onyx can be a translucent stone, and we backlit a large piece over the new double-sided fireplace on the living room side. This backlighting shows all the wonderful swirls and colors of this unusual piece of stone while teaming up with a muted glass subway tile to create a thoroughly modern fireplace.
The cabinetry in the home was custom designed and fabricated by Meadowlark Builders, and then built into place. The consistent muted grain of Beech was just the thing to help the bold colors of the stone and walls work in together. Beech also takes stain well, so we were able to make the cabinetry find a consistent, complimentary color.
The desk unit next to the fireplace is much more functional now, and contains all of the computer equipment for the home within. It communicates with the rest of the room and yet stands as its own separate area. Other storage cabinets for items that live in the space were built in as well that serve to tie the spaces together and create beautiful focal points in important transitional spaces.
The mudroom door to the garage was moved, and we took a little space from the laundry to make the mudroom have a bench and better, more accessible storage. With good cabinet design and convenient accessories like a fold-up ironing board cabinet, we were actually able to make a smaller laundry that functioned better.
The mudroom door to the kitchen and entry to the living room were also widened to make better visual and physical access to the kitchen. When entering the home from any of the entrances, a person is greeted with pleasant views of the kitchen from several angles. This draws the eye through the space and enlarges it visually. A beautiful view also welcomes you into the house and is a calming presence.
This project also featured a “deep energy retrofit” as part of an effort to live a more carbon neutral lifestyle. We installed geothermal heating and cooling and also air-sealed and re-insulated the house to achieve far better performance from those systems. This resulted in a system that was approximately 3.5 times more efficient in total energy use.
A tighter house also means that we needed better ventilation in the home. Rather than throwing away the energy that was already paid for, we installed an energy recovery ventilator (ERV). These systems recover heat and moisture from stale air, and impart it to the fresh air we are taking into the home. They also allow us to control where the ventilation goes much better, so that the fresh air is going where it’s needed.
Water systems can benefit from energy upgrades as well, and are a way to decrease water use in a home as well. We installed a hot water heater with a heat pump to wring as much energy out of the water heater as possible. This device is 96% efficient and has better insulation around the exterior to better hold energy in the tank. The tank is glass-lined for decades of serviceable use without rusting out at the bottom and causing a leak in the finished basement. We also installed a point-of-use heater at the remote kitchen sink to save water and energy.
The gas fireplace also has a heat exchanger on it so that most of the energy the fireplace uses will end up as usable heat in the home. Since the homeowners intend to power their house with solar panels in the future, we installed quality LED recessed lighting throughout the new areas. This lighting uses ten times less energy than a standard incandescent bulb with great color rendition and no wait for the bulb to heat up. These lights also last about 10,000 hours, so over time they will pay for themselves.
We’ll track the energy used in this home over time to make sure that we are getting the performance we desired. It also creates a feedback loop for the homeowner, helping them make good choices over time.
We have had the good fortune of attending a party at this home and seeing it being used in everyday family life after they moved in. The spaces flow well, and the kitchen is organized and made for a family cooking experience. The surfaces are durable and will hold up well over time. This home now has the unique personality of the family who lives there and will be a warm and inviting space for many years to come.
