Photos by Rich Michell, courtesy David Heide Design Studio
“Cute,” says David Heide, principal of David Heide Design Studio in Minneapolis. “She told us what she wanted in one word: Cute. And that was the end of the meeting.” We’re all laughing during this interview, but of course there was a bit more. The client, who was redoing her parents’ home after purchasing it from her siblings, wanted a bright new kitchen in keeping with the 1940’s style of the home.
“The challenge,” says architect Chris Christofferson, “was to make one cohesive space and make it more functional. Every inch mattered throughout the design.” After demoing her father’s 1960’s era kitchen (but keeping the period-perfect beadboard), the team worked within the kitchen’s existing footprint.
They added a window between the sink and the range, and rearranged the appliance layout so the refrigerator is in the corner, and moved the range to the outside wall, “which allowed us to have a clear and open island that opened up the kitchen,” explains Christofferson.
The new (other than the beadboard) pantry/buffet in the dining room houses the client’s collection of vintage kitchenware in a springtime-pastel color palette. A traditional wallpaper with a William Morris motif surrounds the pantry/buffet. Scallop cutouts above the sink and along the buffet/server add to the vintage aesthetic, while red glass knobs add pops of color.
The springy green color “seemed appropriate for the period and style of the house,” Heide says. “The house didn’t call for a white kitchen. Plus, this kitchen shows what you can do with a painted look. And in a smaller kitchen, one color can help the space feel larger.”