Heritage Kitchen Renovation
Tolka Millwork completes a wide range of renovation work throughout Greater Vancouver, from heritage to contemporary design. This finished renovation was entered in the Georgie Awards for Best Kitchen, and was featured on a local Parade of Renovated Homes and Heritage Home Tour.
The original house was built in the1930’s and is a Tudor style home with a lot of the original floors, doors and arches still in place. Tolka Millwork was asked by the homeowners to update three areas including:
a) floor repair/finishing and staircase rebuild
b) a kitchen renovation
c) a new entertainment centre.
Double click on photo to see slide show - more information below photos)
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- After – North
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- Before – North
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- After – East
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- Before – East
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- Window Seat
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- Engineered Stone Counters
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- Full Extension Platter Rack
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- Kitchen Floorplan Before
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- Kitchen Floorplan After
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- Rebuilt Staircase
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- Curved Stair Tread
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- Refinished Floor
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- New Entertainment Unit
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- Cut Furniture Feet
As in many renovations today, homeowners want to create more of an open floor plan. In this case the original central staircase between the dining room and kitchen was closed in with a door. The renovation plan was to remove the walls and door to create an “open” plan between the two rooms. Originally only the stair treads were to be replaced, but upon investigation some stair stringers were damaged and required upgrading. With new stair treads, side aprons, forged metal spindles, newal posts, and railings, the original floor was repaired where necessary and refinished.
In the second stage of renovation the small kitchen and a chimney were removed and Tolka Millwork designed, built and installed a new kitchen. It should be stated that this is a small kitchen area at only 136 square feet, and the clients had no desire to increase the space. As such the clients’ requests were three fold: to maintain the kitchen area with the only increase being the removal of the old chimney; to maintain heritage features and use a heritage motif in the new kitchen; to introduce modern conveniences allowing for maximum kitchen efficiency and create a seating area to relax in the new kitchen. The end results of Tolka Millwork’s kitchen design were:
- naturally finished millwork in cherry and fir
- crown moulding and solid cherry columns on peninsula and fridge cabinets
- peninsula with downdraft range and second prep sink
- custom solid glass backsplash and leaded glass doors from local artists
- innovative storage with 23 solid wood dovetailed drawers
- full-extension vertical platter rack above fridge
- a lazy susan as one unit of doors and shelves that rotates into room
- window seat with lined, storage chests below cushions
- 1/3 of ceiling opened, allowing for new fir-lined vaulted/beamed ceiling
The final project was a small entertainment unit to fit into a tight corner between a fireplace and French doors. As most of Tolka Millwork’s entertainment centres are larger, they are generally attached to the wall. Due to the small size and stability of this unit, it was milled as a piece of furniture that could be easily moved. This piece is very traditional with cut feet, furniture and crown moulding, yet designed with lots of full extension drawer storage and easy access to hidden wiring.
