{"id":2648,"date":"2024-10-24T16:34:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T08:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2024\/10\/24\/kitchen-of-the-week-a-plain-english-kitchen-in-a-brooklyn-brownstone-space-gaining-bay-window-included\/"},"modified":"2024-10-24T16:34:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T08:34:06","slug":"kitchen-of-the-week-a-plain-english-kitchen-in-a-brooklyn-brownstone-space-gaining-bay-window-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/ms\/kitchen-of-the-week-a-plain-english-kitchen-in-a-brooklyn-brownstone-space-gaining-bay-window-included\/","title":{"rendered":"Dapur Minggu Ini: Dapur Inggeris Sederhana di Rumah Batu Brownstone Brooklyn, Termasuk Tingkap Teluk yang Menambah Ruang"},"content":{"rendered":"

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After 11 years of living in their Brooklyn brownstone, architect Anat Soudry\u2019s friends were ready: they wanted to replace the Ikea shoebox kitchen that came with their otherwise well-preserved 1889 townhouse.<\/p>\n

John and Danielle\u2014he\u2019s a magazine journalist; she\u2019s an early education teacher and former fashion designer\u2014are aesthetes who love to cook and have three young kids. They had outsized hopes and dreams (and a realistic budget) for their new design. Knowing that they love the Italianate plasterwork, moldings, and other original details in their landmarked home, Soudry, their former neighbor who runs her own firm, immediately suggested they work with Plain English Design to make the cabinets.<\/p>\n

But how to fit all that the couple hoped into the existing space? The plan was to flip the kitchen\/dining area: the new kitchen would fill the former dining room and the table would replace the adjacent former galley kitchen. It was a tidy approach but not quite big enough to house the desired range, island, and mega-storage. Because of zoning and cost constraints, a ground-up addition was not an option. Read on to see the solutions Soudry pulled out of her architectural bag of tricks.<\/p>\n

Photographs by Kyle Norton, courtesy of Plain English and Anat Soudry Architect.<\/p>\n


Above: To fit all of the kitchen\u2019s desired elements, Soudry introduced a cantilevered bay window, also known as an oriel window, to the back of the space overlooking the garden. And she inserted the large range into the room\u2019s existing fireplace, a tough sell that she remedied by giving the setup the look of a hearth. <\/p>\n

Plain English provided the millwork, including the fridge surround and the island. A longstanding Remodelista favorite based in the UK\u2014with a showroom in NYC\u2019s East Village and a kitchen shop at Nickey Kehoe in LA\u2014the company specializes in bespoke kitchen cabinetry and are proud traditionalists. As they say: \u201cWe\u2019ve spent 30 years studying with fascination the Georgian sensibility of form and proportion and this runs through all of our designs in any number of architectural settings.\u201d As for the wallpapered door: for extra storage, Soudry converted a closet into a second pantry and wallpapered it, at Danielle\u2019s request, in Brunschwig & Fils\u2019s Bird and Thistle pattern.<\/p>\n

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Above: The black walnut-framed bay window\u2014made in the US by Parrett Windows & Doors and supplied by Prince Windows\u2014adds a lot of light to the room and 25 square feet of interior space, just enough clearance to make the island comfortably fit. The cabinets were all tailored for the space\u2014\u201dI drafted a plan and elevations, and Plain English assigned an in-house designer to work on the project and suggest the type of cabinets and other inserts. There was quite a bit of back and forth,\u201d says Soudry, adding that she prefers working with kitchen companies to going fully custom: \u201cunless money is no object, kitchen systems companies deliver a great product that lasts because that\u2019s what they specialize in\u2014and my clients can see what they\u2019re getting in advance.\u201d <\/p>\n

John and Danielle bought the vintage gilded hanging lights over the window and the island at Bijan Royal, an antiques store at 60 East 11th Street in NYC.<\/p>\n


Above: The cabinets are painted in a Plain English Paint shade called Army Camp (and have interiors in Flummery, a pale yellow inspired by \u201csoft pudding\u201d). Note that Soudry was able to insert extra shelving on each end of the window.,<\/p>\n

Thanks to her fashion skills, Danielle wanted pattern and color in the kitchen. In lieu of the roller shade Soudry suggested, they went with a curtain in an Osborne & Little floral. And Soudry herself brought past training to the job: in Israel, where she grew up, she studied meteorology during her mandatory time in the army, and worked as a weather person for Channel 2 in Israel while she was in architecture school. \u201cThe reason I was drawn to weather is because I\u2019m drawn to the environment: nature, buildings, and how they co-exist\u2014it\u2019s all related,\u201d she says. Soudry also has a certificate in historic preservation from NYU.<\/p>\n


Above: Antique Victorian tiles from Solar Antique Tiles in NYC create a patterned backsplash for the Viking 7 Series 48-inch range built into the original fireplace\u2014the hood vent, a PK22 by Best, runs through the existing chimney shaft (\u201cit was a structural challenge,\u201d says Soudry, \u201cbut we pulled it off.\u201d). The island stools are a Plain English design in a \u201cutilitarian red\u201d called Rusty Nail. <\/p>\n

Plain English\u2019s furniture, paints, and Georgian brass hardware are available exclusively to customers and are not sold \u00e0 la carte, but work tables and standing cabinets can be purchased on their own.<\/p>\n


Above: The cabinet and island counters are Imperial Danby honed marble. The fridge, to the left of the range, is disguised behind a cabinet with freezer drawers below and storage above\u2014Soudry notes that John and Danielle are both tall and can easily reach the overhead storage.,<\/p>\n

The new wide-board floor is engineered white oak from PID Floors.<\/p>\n


Above: The microwave oven is integrated into the island. NYC Builders Group served as general contractor and NYCBG member Marek Jakubowski was project manager: \u201cIt was teamwork,\u201d says Soudry. \u201cMarek cares about his craft and executed everything well.\u201d
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Above: A freestanding Plain English larder, a cabinet that can hold tableware or staples, is tucked in a corner. \u201cMy grandma grew up on a farm in Canada,\u201d says Danielle. \u201cI always wanted a kitchen with all the modern comforts but without it looking at all modern.\u201d
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Above: An antique American pine dining table with a built-in banquette occupies the footprint of the former, all-white kitchen\u2014there was a wide partition between kitchen and dining area that Soudry opened further: \u201cnow it\u2019s almost one open space.\u201d The antique chandelier, a converted gas fixture, is another piece from Bijan Royal.,<\/p>\n

The French doors replaced a small window and are a new addition painstakingly designed to appear as if they\u2019ve always been there: the windows are made by Parrett Windows & Doors, which also supplied the bay window. \u201cWe attached a P.E. Guerin surface-mount bolt to add a vintage look,\u201d says Soudry.<\/p>\n


Above: As an afterthought, Soudry had her builder make a cabinet for the dining area. The crimped metal screens were ordered online from TWP.
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Above: The view from the front hall. \u201cThe renovation included removing and reusing existing original wood moldings throughout the floor, and the existing plaster crown molding was restored in some sections and re-created to match in other sections,\u201d says Soudry. The stair runner came from Lang Carpet.
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Above: The new bay window\u2014framed in wood on the interior and aluminum on the exterior\u2014stole a mere two feet from the existing deck, which was expanded during the remodel. \u201cIt was a relatively small but mighty project,\u201d says Soudry. <\/p>\n

Here are three more favorite Plain English designs:<\/p>\n