Kitchen of the Week: Historic Queen Anne Renovation

Homeowner and architect Geoffrey Gainer of True Size Architecture Resides in a Queen Anne in San Francisco’s Mission district. While renovating the kitchen, he did not like the notion of attempting to hide new appliances behind wood paneling, but he didn’t want to look a modern space that would jar with the rest of the home. See the way he solved this layout dilemma by using materials that would show gentle wear with time.

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Gainer took out a wall between the kitchen and dining rooms to unite the spaces. The salvaged Douglas fir shelves come in the original 120-year-old wall, making the kitchen and historical home more cohesive. All these shelves, the cork floors and also the paper-based countertops will all ding, dent and darken over time to meld with the home’s old charm.

Gainer discovered the classic chandelier and made two kitchen pendants to match. Located parts from Ohmega Salvage along with the hardware store help tie the dining and kitchen area collectively. The massive steel post in front of the island serves as a structural support beam in the ceiling and functions as a conduit for the shelf lights’ wiring.

Metalwork: Wendell Jones; sheet metal (except hood): stainless steel, Pacific Coast Stainless

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The open cabinets are a great way to solve the shortage of lighting in the kitchen. Since this type of historical residence, Gainer could not expand the windows or transfer them. The floating glass cabinetry allows the light to filter through the full kitchen. Gainer bought knobs at Ikea and painted and sanded them to get a luxury appearance.

“Two sinks result in a fantastic marriage. It is seriously worth the additional couple million bucks,” says Gainer. He and his wife understood that it’d be hard for both to find room in the stove too, so they found a set of two electric burners in a garage sale and put in them below the window facing the porch.

Cabinetry and shelving: habit by David Brunjes; cabinetry completing: Ciarlo Brothers

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The lower cabinetry has been kept open to make obtaining everyday items easy. The kitchen island is open to the dining space, but Gainer did not want his guests to observe a kitchen mess while eating, so he wired the kitchen lighting and dining lights separately. At night, when the kitchen lights are off, the distance feels completely different.

Countertop: Richlite; fridge: GE Profile; range: Viking; hood: Stack, Rangecraft

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The space-saving island layout is Gainer’s favorite thing about the kitchen. The top drawer is a knife rack and the third drawer has a pot-lid rack using adjustable steel rods, which he designed. The distance between the sink and the cabinet walls was just big enough for Gainer to devote a drawer for tall bottles of olive oil and other cooking essentials. The front of this sink is truly a tilt-out tray to keep items easy, and there’s a habit swing-out trash can for easy cleanup.

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Gainer and his wife have two young brothers, so child friendliness was important. “Keeping them at the counter is much easier than attempting to monitor the mess in the table, and they like it better there too,” he says.

Oven: Miele; wall spout: Elkay; faucets: Chicago

More: How to Remodel Your Kitchen | More Kitchens of the Week

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