May 26, 2022

Renovating the kitchen inside a historic home is bound to have its challenges – especially when it’s been vacant for over 30 years. Winner of our Design Contest’s Traditional Kitchen category, interior designer Lindsey Snodgrass of Golden Key Designs worked on a 1905 Greek Revival home in New Orleans, Louisiana, and completed its new kitchen to seamlessly blend in with its surrounding architecture. A master class in tasteful restoration, the kitchen maintains the character of the original home while modernizing the space for 21st-century life. Waterstone Design Contest judge Cara Fox of The Fox Group described the winning design as a “[combination of] timeless and classic style with a hint of modern luxury and convenience. It’s elegant and the use of materials is perfectly balanced.” We spoke to the designer on how exactly she married the old with the new through careful material and fixture choices. 1. You said this 1905 home had been vacant for over 30 years – what was the home and old kitchen like before the renovation? The kitchen was definitely the number one area that needed care. It had a lot of termite damage. The ceiling had water intrusion problems and the cabinets were crumbling apart. On our first visit, there were even a couple squirrels in the ceiling! The original exterior of the kitchen was very small and closed off from the rest of the house. The upstairs sun porch was actually falling down due to termite damage. The best option was to demo both and expand the kitchen across the entire width of the house. This allowed the kitchen to be much more open and functional for today’s lifestyle. It also allowed us to create a beautiful floor plan upstairs that added a primary suite. 2. What were the challenges in designing the new kitchen and how did you overcome them to meet the design goals? Our biggest goal was to carry the historical aspects throughout the new addition. We wanted it to be a seamless transition, and feel like it was always part of the home. The biggest challenge with this kitchen was probably the flooring. This doesn’t seem like a very fabulous aspect of the design, but to have the old floor tie seamlessly into the new, without a threshold or 1/2’’ rise was so important. I think how a floor transitions from one room to another, especially when it’s an addition, can dramatically make a difference in the overall flow and feeling of the space. This was a raised home, which is very common in New Orleans, so it wasn’t as simple as laying a traditional foundation. To perfectly match the height of the original wood floors to the new flooring was a challenge. It was 100-year-old brick piers with rough cut wood sills and true 1’’ thick wood floors with no subfloor. Calculating it to match the exact height for new grade beams, with lumber that isn’t true to size as it used to be, adding subfloor and accounting for the thickness of modern long leaf pine floor boards was harder than it seems. Plus, most historical homes can easily be an inch off, over the entire width of the foundation that you’re tying into, so we had to account for that as well. It was a lot! I strongly believe it’s those details that make a difference in the outcome. 3. How would you describe the new kitchen’s style? I would say it’s a modern twist on French country. 4. How did you balance maintaining the character of the old kitchen and modernizing it? Did the homeowners have specific requests on what to keep, or what to buy new? Since this kitchen was almost completely new construction, we had to design the coffered ceiling, the trim work, the kitchen windows, everything from scratch and ensure it flowed with the rest of the home. It was important to keep and reuse as many of the old elements as we could. There was a total of six doorways with transoms that were removed and reused throughout the home. You can see the original wood door in the kitchen, it used to lead outside, but now it leads into the laundry room. We kept the same angle of the doorway to match how it originally was leading into the kitchen, except it’s about 10’ over after widening the room. You don’t see it in these photos, but the living room doorway mimics the same angle, so we felt it was an important architectural aspect to keep. Once we had the historical aspects finalized we were then able to add in the modern elements. The beautiful Paonazzo marble, the recessed panel on the island waterfall is probably one of my favorite elements. I think that was the perfect blend between modern and traditional. We also mixed new light fixtures with old ones. I am a big fan of Ralph Lauren’s line through Visual Comfort. The McCarren sconces modernized the lighting and complimented the vintage pendants perfectly. Then the custom stove really tied it all together in a perfect way. 5. The Waterstone Extended Reach Faucet fits so naturally into the space. How did you decide on this faucet and what does it contribute to the kitchen’s design? This kitchen needed a faucet that could be a feature all on its own. The extended reach couldn’t have looked better, the classic design went perfectly with this kitchen. Plus, it was honestly a must for the functionality of the 45’’ workstation sink. 6. Why did you decide to go with our Polished Nickel finish for this space? One of my go-to’s for historic homes is polished nickel. It’s just timeless to me. A fun fact is that nickel was the preferred finish in homes from about 1880-1930. I love the understated warmth it brings to a space. 7. How does the classic design of this kitchen relate to other kitchens you’ve worked on? Do you usually design historic homes or is this one

Our first Waterstone Design Contest has wrapped up, and we’re proud to put a spotlight on the inaugural Contemporary Kitchen category winner, By Design Interiors, Inc. Featuring a bold (and unexpected) combination of opulent luxury and modern farmhouse styles, the kitchen has been called the “Chanel Chic” renovation. Contest judge Cara Fox, principal designer at the Fox Group, described the space as having “a stunning wow factor with gorgeous statement marble that is full of personality and beauty… brass and modern lighting complements and freshens the whole room.” The design team at By Design Interiors joined us to discuss exactly how they incorporated glitz and glamour into this winning contemporary kitchen design. 1. When designing a space with a dynamic combination of colors and materials like this one, where do you start? For this ‘Chanel Chic Kitchen’ – The designer wanted to update the home to beautifully match the fabulous and chic personal style of the homeowner. As a high-profile professional, the homeowner wanted a dramatic space in the ‘heart’ of her home to entertain guests. Together, they created a sleek, black, white, and gold oasis that truly grabs your attention. 2. Is this kitchen representative of your usual style or does it stand out against your other work? By Design Interiors, Inc. is a hub for talented designers to work with homeowners in creating interior spaces as unique as each client. All our designers can take on different design styles, we are chameleons in that sense, yet we do certain styles and aesthetics we are drawn to. For our Chanel Chic Renovation, we wanted to highlight the homeowners’ love for glamour paired with modern farmhouse design elements. Mixing in bold black, white, and gold with pops of turquoise, durable surfaces (such as the shiplap along the grand island), and exposed beams seen in the great room. It was a hands-on process between the designer and homeowner, beginning with discussing inspiration images and getting to know her personal style. From there we were able to begin the selections process. In this case, the plumbing fixtures were selected very early in the design process. This helped to learn: What metal finishes do they like? Are they more modern or traditional? Do they like square lines or curvy lines? Are they ok with mixing metal finishes? Do they love to cook? Do they love to entertain? Once plumbing and appliances are finalized, the design team can move forward with so many other selections for the space keeping the shapes, finishes, and style consistent throughout. 3. There are many eye-catching pieces in this kitchen, but which would you say is your favorite? Oh, so many! We love how this kitchen embodies the homeowner perfectly! From the gold vent hood to the black tiles and striking Cambria quartz waterfall edge island…but we can’t deny that the island is showstopper! It was a favorite selection for the homeowner, and your eye goes straight there upon entering the space. The matte black sleek Waterstone faucet compliments it perfectly. 4. What kind of vibe does the black, white, and gold combination make for in this space? Drama. The space utilizes the client’s personal / high-end style as the muse behind the glamours of golds, black and whites. The homeowner wanted her kitchen to make a statement for her guests. She loves to entertain and wanted this space to have the ‘Wow-Factor’ for all who enter. The bold contrast of the white cabinets, black backsplash and gold vent hood is pure drama! It encompasses the glamour while still being function by utilizing high-quality appliances durable materials such as quartz and porcelain. 5. It almost looks as if the room was designed around the Waterstone PLP faucet. What drew you to the faucet and this finish in particular? The matte black and brass Waterstone Pulldown faucet perfectly complements the island design, adding an edgy industrial pop to the glamourous quartz countertop. 6. What would you say is the most important aspect of designing a kitchen? It is important to design a kitchen that is functional for the homeowner. This begins by gathering inspiration, listening, and learning about what they love, their lifestyle and how they plan to live / use their home. We consider: do they like to cook? Entertain? Lifestyle? Professions? Etc. It’s important to understand how their daily routines will be throughout the space. From there, we are able to create the best workflow and begin to make selections for their needs and style. We enjoy creating spaces that look like the client really belongs in them. The end goal is for friends, family, even acquaintances to walk into a client’s space and say “oh! This is so you!” For our Chanel Chic Kitchen, it was about showing off the client’s personal style by incorporating glitz and glamour with a striking black, white, and gold color palette accented by gold bamboo-look pendants, bold hardware, and decorative brass details on the apron-front sink, Waterstone faucet, and JennAir range. The hard surfaces were selected to fit the homeowner’s busy lifestyle – as a successful professional with a passion for dogs – each surface is cleanable, puppy-proof, yet luxurious. The star is the Cambria Quartz island top in the Bentley design. It directed every selection and detail of the space. The dynamic black and white veining and waterfall edge is supported by glossy black chevron backsplash, chic black and white cabinetry, and a gold-leafed custom vent hood. Instead of a standard door, a custom designed ‘Greek-key’- inspired swinging door leads into the working pantry. Subtle white shiplap panels line the back of the island for an extra level of durability when sitting at this grand island. 7. It looks like the owners will enjoy this space for years to come. How do you balance creating bold designs with making sure they remain timeless? We balance bold designs with function. This is done by getting to know our client and making sure the selections and designs will not only be