Bringing Harmony to a 1923 Kansas City Shirtwaist Home
When you make important changes to your home over the years, these new additions may end up feeling out of sync with the home’s original character. Your home needs to change to adapt to your needs. But somewhere along the way, you may realize that you’ve lost a little bit of what made the home unique in the first place.
When Architectural Craftsmen was asked to remodel a 1923 Kansas City shirtwaist, we encountered a challenge like this. The current owners hoped to get rid of an earlier addition, while making space for their current needs. Our Kansas City home remodeling team remodeled the out-of-place addition to recapture the home’s original charm.
If you think that what we’re describing sounds like your home right now, or you have another design challenge you’d like us to take on, contact us online or call us at (913) 963-2246.
Challenges Become Design Opportunities For Our Home Remodeling Team
The 1990s addition to the back of our client’s Kansas City shirtwaist home felt out of character with the rest of the home. Our clients hoped to update their kitchen, family room, and powder room into a better layout that blended with the original architectural details that still existed in other living areas.
Architectural Craftsmen, the expert home remodeling contractors near you, started work on solutions that would satisfy and exceed our client’s expectations.
- What we observed: As we began our work, we discovered that the only bathroom on the main level was in the addition, and shared the same space as the laundry machines, making it undesirable for entertaining. The kitchen was cramped, outdated, and cut off from the family room.
- An initial solution: First, we opened up the wall between the kitchen and the family room to make it more appealing for family activities and entertaining guests and to create an open flow. We then moved the laundry to the basement and moved the powder room to a more private location.
- New challenges arise: When we removed one of the walls, we discovered that it was structural, holding up the second floor of the 1990s addition. Our team recognized that we needed to install a ceiling beam that ended up being exposed about four inches below the ceiling plane.
- Opportunities found: We realized that this was a chance to tie in the coffered ceiling details from the dining room, creating an architectural harmony that hadn’t existed in the addition. To do so, we built an oak box beam around the exposed ceiling beam, updated the base trim, and stained the crown molding to match the rest of the house. In the end, the addition looked like it had been there all along.
Do you have a design challenge for our home remodeling company? Request a complimentary on-site consultation. We’d love to come take a look and collaborate on a solution that will enhance your home. Contact us today to get started.
Goodbye 1990s Addition. Hello, Shirtwaist Charm.
As historic home remodelers, we’re always looking for chances to accentuate your home’s architectural features, while providing usable space that meets your needs and taste.
For this 1923 Kansas City shirtwaist home, our goal was to create a modern, functioning space that looked like it had been there since the time the home was built. We achieved this with the new kitchen and family room layout and by integrating materials and fixtures representative of the earlier era.
For the kitchen, we sourced hand-made green subway tiles. The tile carried the theme from the living room’s fireplace surround into the new kitchen. We sourced the light fixture from a vintage lighting supplier for the new dining area. The plumbing fixtures also reflected shapes, functions, and finishes from the past, and even included porcelain “H” and “C” icons on the powder room cross handles. We stained the cabinetry in hickory and the trim in dark oak. These details harken back to what would have been present in the home back in the early 1920s.
Architectural Craftsmen Are Your Expert Home Remodelers
Down to the finest detail, our Kansas City home remodeling design team satisfies your desire for a more functional, appealing, and unique home. With particular expertise in homes built prior to 1940, we understand how to emphasize your home’s architectural features in ways that are steeped in an architectural tradition, yet feel fully contemporary and fresh.
Our team of home remodeling contractors near you offers complimentary on-site consultation, so you can find out more about what we can do for you. Request a consultation online or call (913) 963-2246.
