Jane Powell — House Dressing
author, restoration consultant
The kitchen in this 1906 bungalow, though large at twelve by eighteen feet, had little usable counter space and an awkward layout. The original cabinets in the sink area had been replaced by metal cabinets sometime in the 1940s, and the low windowsill of the window to the left of the sink limited the amount of available counter space. Raising the windowsill allowed the new cabinets to extend further. The vents for the cooler cabinet (a cabinet vented to the outside, used to store potatoes and such) remained in the corner, so a new cooler cabinet was built to replace the missing old one. The painted cabinets feature inset doors, butterfly hinges, and the cupboard turns and bin handles typical of the bungalow period. The countertops were tiled, with a wooden edge treatment, and the original beadboard wainscoating was left as a backsplash, except in the sink area, where tile extends up to the window apron. The floor was covered with real linoleum, and the cabinets were painted to match the cream color of the 1920s era vintage stove.