Kitchen Update in Mount Pleasant, Washington, DC
Project Overview
We first met these clients is 2010 when we reconfigured their second floor and completely remodeled two full bathrooms. The project went smoothly; they were thrilled with the outcome and at the time, informed us that they would contact us in a year or so when it was time to gut and remodel their kitchen. Contact us they did, and we were ready, willing, and able to get started.
Design and Layout
One of the homeowners is an avid chef who cooks several evenings in the week as well as every weekend. The old kitchen was horrible, both from a practical and visual standpoint. There were windows of varying sizes, a back door that was too narrow and an island was forced into the space where it didn’t really belong. Our goal was to create a highly functional as well as aesthetically pleasing kitchen. We started by removing the island, reworking the window openings to uniform heights and sizes and increasing the width of the back door. Appliances were rearranged for maximum efficiency, and a prep-sink was added in the middle of a long run of counter. In the interest of gaining storage, the radiator was replaced with a toe kick heater, and a red oak hardwood floor was installed to match the rest of the home.
Style
This house is over one hundred years old and many of the original details remain. When we remodeled the upstairs bathrooms we kept to a traditional style in the hall bath, but went contemporary with the master bath. This worked well since the bathroom is an isolated space. The kitchen and powder room are directly connected to the downstairs living space, so we opted for a more traditional look so as not to conflict with the existing architecture. The fixtures and finishes in the powder bath in particular, hearken back to the period in which the house was built. The kitchen is more transitional, but the crown molding detail matches that in the rest of the house while the leathered granite countertops are modern, yet give an aged feel at the same time.
Construction and Final Product
We learned a few valuable lessons from the first project in the home. Although we had a public space permit for our dumpster, the street in front of the house is narrow with limited parking and the neighbors were not happy with the added obstruction. For this project we opted to forgo the dumpster and stored our trash in the backyard instead. The kitchen was a full gut job, and our plan was to “sister” new framing to the existing joists to achieve a level floor. What we did not anticipate was the significant termite damage we found in many of the floor joists. This compromised the structure, so there was no alternative other than replacing these floor joists completely. We did not let this slow us down and the project was completed on time and on budget. The finished kitchen is beautiful and a chef’s dream from a functional standpoint.
What the Customer Said
“Four Brothers LLC renovated our kitchen and powder room on our main level in 2011. We had a really great experience with Four Brothers previously when they renovated our second floor (two bathrooms, built-ins, new closets) in 2010. The work was performed in a very professional manner and the results are incredible. This company really knows how to deliver customer service, even with demanding customers like ourselves. We started working on the design of our kitchen and half bath and Four Brothers brought in a professional kitchen designer to work with us. We planned every square inch of that kitchen for months, also selecting materials with their advice. We ordered custom cabinets and designer tile, never making decisions entirely on our own as this company is very collaborative. They also know how to deliver what a customer wants. They secured all the legal permits, etc., showed up every day in a PUNCTUAL manner, completed the work timely (including where there were some curve-balls thrown in like finding old termite damage which needed to be fixed) and made sure to keep the house clean of dust, etc. The results are fantastic and everyone comments on our new kitchen and half bath. I also highly recommend them to those individuals planning a renovation in DC of older homes; they really know what they might find when unearthing a bathroom that is a century old. They also do not cut corners as they know this will result in problems later on, so you can expect them to want to replace old pipes, etc. if they think they will not deliver your bathroom or kitchen for years to come. In short they were wonderful to work with and have the highest degree of integrity.”