Kitchen Revision
I think it’s safe to say I’ve known Nora for a very long while now. Although we’re not sure how we met, it’s a fact that we’ve done lots of work in her lovely mid-century home. Since she’s used us since the inception of Practical Renovations, we decided to make a case for the rare occurrence of renovating a kitchen in her home nestled in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood just down the street from Grumpy’s and Lucky’s—two of my favorite dining spots near the town center.
Since it was clear that she’d be living in the home for years to come, creating a new vision and planning a serious renovation made sense. So, we got to work.
The existing kitchen was in decent shape at first glance, but a closer look revealed many imperfections that were standard with typical DIY remodels we often see: a poor cabinet layout, mediocre functionality, haphazardly wired circuits, budget materials, and sub-par planning to prevent clashing between cabinets and door trim.
Then, the plaster and lathe ceiling was removed along with a plaster and lathe wall which revealed some of the town’s history first-hand—soot from coal-powered steel mills nearly a century ago over many decades worked its way into the crevices behind the ceiling and walls. This made for a very, very messy demo job. Zach was assigned to that task, and he knocked it out of the park. Great job, Zach.
Removing the cabinets and countertop was the easy part, but removing the floor tile was tough. With some muscle and a few long heavy-duty crowbars, we were able to lift up near full sheets of cement board that the tile was mortared to. Once that was all removed, I checked the overall condition of the floor which was covered in a dusty film that could only be sanded off, more than likely from the reaction of the cement board being stepped on over many years…
“But what if we could save the wood floor?”
It’s a good thing we did, because Jessie at Cleveland Hardwood Flooring determined it was original maple. After repairing broken boards, lots of sanding, and a gorgeous top coat the floor finally came back to life after years of isolation and depravity. I’m sure it felt good to breathe again.
After it was all said and done, the client opted for a porcelain herringbone tile backsplash, gold hardware, a waterfall quartz countertop, birch-faced cabinets, recessed LED lights, and all new fixtures. This project was completed in about two months, well within budget, no major hiccups whatsoever, and all done with the highest standard of craftsmanship that we aim to achieve on every renovation.
We hope Nora enjoys her new kitchen—she did a stellar job working with us to select materials and her patience, perseverance and vision has clearly paid off in a dramatic and elegant way which will undoubtedly give this home many, many more years of life.
