Phoenix Rising
A new kitchen rises out of the proverbial ashes of a
house fire.
Sometimes tragedy leads to opportunity. When DC-area interior designer Lori Anderson Wier was approached by a family after a house fire, she embraced the challenge to remake their home. “It was definitely a make lemonade out of lemons scenario,” she says of the electrical fire that caused smoke damage, calling for a whole-house renovation, including a brand new kitchen.
Optimism was tantamount, and Lori was determined to create new spaces that would function better than the old ones for the Arlington, Virginia, family (mom, dad and four kids) who had been displaced.
DESIGN FOCUS
Previously the 1990s colonial-style house had a formal closed-off floor plan with a compartmentalized kitchen, dining and living rooms, as well as a much smaller footprint for the kitchen. The old kitchen also had nondescript oak cabinets and Ubatuba granite counters.
Starting her design from scratch, Lori collaborated with builder Jenkins Restorations, as well as with Heather Blelloch at Cornerstone Kitchen & Bath, to execute her vision. “The homeowners wanted a classic and timeless white kitchen,” says Lori, who opened up the floor plan and expanded the kitchen’s footprint to twice its original size. She created zones for food prep and cooking, different spots to eat meals, such as the island and the banquette, and also a desk area. “Having a bigger kitchen that accommodated their day-to-day needs was critical,” she says.
ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS
Lori, who had worked for renowned DC designer Darryl Carter for six years before striking out on her own, is particularly attuned to the interior architecture of spaces. “The former kitchen, though functional, completely lacked memorable architectural details, so keeping that classic colonial farmhouse style in mind, we added crown moldings and v-groove paneling, as well as simple recessedpanel cabinetry with an integrated wood-paneled hood,” she says. “For hardware, I selected a trio of knobs, sashes and bin-pulls in a dark, almost black, oil-rubbed bronze finish. The dark finish elevates their simple forms.”
Spindle-backed black chairs and schoolhousestyle stools pull up to the custom island, whose furniture-like base is the palest gray, and whose countertop, like the peripheral counters, is of a Virginia granite that looks like soapstone. In the eat-in area, there is also a custom bench banquette with a grooved, sloped back for comfort. Sliding pocket doors both connect to and seal off the adjacent formal dining room, which features double built-in gray china cabinets to work with cabinetry in the kitchen, tying the spaces together. “I used a classic American farmhouse vocabulary in my design, nothing overly decorative, but perfect for the family,” she says.