Wow, that's quite a transformation! I love the new cabinets and the floor. I also like that you left some exposed brick on the wall.

Beautifully done! Love the new floor and the choice of light wood (maple?) cabinets. You did a great job incorporating that small back room and the updated windows add a lot to the overall space.

Just one question: what did I you do about the radiator that got removed?

Enjoy your lovely old house.

Stunning. You captured a moment in time with your new kitchen.

This space has it all: cohesion, flow, character, warmth, cute pets. Well done. Thank you for showing us!

Thank you, Linda! We were hoping to find some cool exposed brick and it actually ended up changing our design a bit--it was supposed to be one big opening to the back part originally, but we turned it into two openings with a column in the middle so we could preserve the different brick work on each side.

Hello RedRyder! That is in fact locally-sourced red maple (we are in Western Pa). Our contractor basically buys trees and turns them into cabinets and trim and such, which among other things helped us sidestep the massive cabinet shortages at the time.

We replaced the radiator with two toekick heaters--one is under the copper sink, and one is under the pantry cabinet next to where the radiator used to be. They run off the same hot water system as our radiators, with a fan that blows when the heat kicks on.

The old radiator is currently sitting outside--we are trying to find it a good home!

Thank you, cupofkindnessgw! I'm just going to throw up one of our inspiration pictures for fun--this is a historic photo of the kitchen in the Samuel Cupples House in St Louis. Also I realized one of the after pictures didn't make it in the original post, but adding it here, you can see a bit of how we were inspired.

Thanks, Beatrix! Our kitchen was always crowded during parties and such--aren't they always?--but the flow was a little awkward. We were committed to keeping the original rear footprint and brick work the same, but just opening up the kitchen into that back space really helped.

Interestingly as far as we know the back was original, but it at least looked like they had filled in some window openings (we think there was a standard plan for a back porch that got modified to incorporate the mudroom):

So we used those openings and sills for the new windows:

Gorgeous! May I ask what material you used for the backsplash area just behind your block of knives? Is that maple paneling or perfectly matched tile or something else entirely?

It is very pretty, nicely done!

Looks fantastic!!!!

Talk to me about that faucet please (I think I’m eyeing the same one - need details!) - is that a copper countertop? This is one of the best projects I’ve seen on this site!

What a beautiful calm and serene space. The floors and the cabinets are beautiful and keeping the old windows and adding new but different windows is a daring choice but it sure does work.

Quite lovely! Well done!!

Hello Alyssa! That is maple beadboard being used in the backsplash. Here is another inspiration photo from the Cupples House to give you an idea of what we were looking at when designing that area:

Hello JP L,

Thank you for the compliment!

Those are Kingston Brass faucets, specifically model GS1273AX, which we ended up buying here at Houzz in fact. Kingston Brass seems to pretty much be the exclusive supplier for that particular configuration--bridge faucet with hot and cold handles of some sort and then a pull down sprayer (I wonder if they have a patent). Generally we have been pleased with the faucets--they look nice and the sprayer works well, although I would note it only has modest reach--enough for the sink and nearby, but these aren't the kind that could, say, reach down to a pot on the floor.

That area by the window does in fact have a copper countertop and copper sink. That was a whole story--a metal working place basically took a deposit from our contractor for an integrated countertop and sink and then went out of business. So eventually our contractor actually got a roll of copper and made the countertop themselves, but they also used a stock sink from Havens Metal. We read a lot about Havens here, so that whole area has a lot of Houzz-related items.

Thank you, blfenton!

We went through a lot of window ideas, but as is probably clear we ultimately have a pretty eclectic style and decided just to go with what we liked. We specifically liked the sort of industrial/Victorian-factory vibe of the new windows, and you can see a little of that style carried into the ceiling fan, pendant light, butler's bell (which is our back doorbell), and round table. We also had a variety of function requirements--we wanted them easy to clean, we wanted them well-insulated and non-leaky, we wanted to be able to get in some fresh air without turning it into a wind tunnel (hence the awning window section) . . . those are hard-working windows!

To us, at at least, that space is just separate enough that we could indulge in all that there, but then leave the main part of the kitchen a little truer to its origins.

Anyway, generally if I am ever wondering where my wife has gotten too, there is a very good chance she is sitting on the bench with a dog or cat (not both--they refuse to be friends). So it definitely worked for us in the sense it is a relaxing place to chill and read or talk or just look out the windows.

Your research and deliberation certainly paid off. It‘s stunning, creative, warm and so unique.

Fabulous! Love the unique personality it now has, along with excellent taste.❤️

Brilliant redirection of the heat that came from the radiator. I’m sure someone needs yours for their old home remodel.

Your new kitchen is so lovely and inviting! Congrats! And please tell me about your shoe hooks - are they hanging in front of a heat source? It's a clever way to get shoes off the floor (the bane of my entry) and I'd like to know what you used. Thanks!

ETA: I keep noticing more wonderful details - like your butler's bell! (I immediately thought of the intro to Downton Abbey.) Is that an antique, or do you have a current clever source?

Also, darling critters enjoying their new digs.

Gorgeous kitchen but the OCD in me has to know what happened with the floor inlay and why it is off in so many areas??!

Hello chicagoans!

The hooks are not in front of a heat source (although that would be cool!), but they do fold out of the paneling. The coat hooks similarly fold out of blocks. We originally got the idea from a reality show called Escape to the Chateau, but if you google something like "piano coat rack" you will find a bunch of versions for sale, and also designs and videos for making them yourself. We shared some of that information with our carpenter and he made them for us.

The butler's bell is new, and was ordered from a shop in the UK (they also have an eBay marketplace), House of Brass. They also come in chrome, and they have three different pulls you can choose. It was a little tricky installing as you have to figure out how the pullies should be set up and then get the tension on the cord right, but it is easily adjusted with a little trial and error.

Hello Rabbitt Design!

So the floor is Victorian Floor Tiles from a company called Original Style, also in the UK, although they have some US dealers including one near us. They are one of the few suppliers left of tiles like that, which were common in churches, public buildings, and some homes back in 19th Century. They have a matte finish which is really unlike almost any other type of tile available today, and in fact we have some historic tiles like that in a sunroom in our house that nothing else really matched.

Eventually products like linoleum (early patterns on which often were often drawn from classic tile designs) largely replaced these tiles in homes, and these days tiles with geometric patterns will typically either come as larger tiles with the patterns glazed on, or perhaps mosaic sheets.

However, these tiles came individually, packed in small lots in little white boxes (many, many boxes!), and had to be laid one by one--there are something like 6000 total in our floor. It is also a little tricky avoiding too many awkward cuts, getting the borders looking reasonable, and so on (there was some math and more trial and error involved). And between some unevenness in the underlying floor and natural variations in the tiles, there is definitely some visual unevenness as well, although I think the camera might be distorting that a bit in some of the pictures.

Anyway, to us that is all part of the charm, as it is very obvious (particularly in person) that you are looking at many, many individually-laid tiles. And it definitely does not look like a modern floor (which of course could be good or bad depending on your tastes).

Love the light wood!!

Kitchen bar stool chairsp

The butler's bell is new, and was ordered from a shop in the UK (they also have an eBay marketplace), House of Brass.

Wait - you AREN'T in the UK?!? I totally thought you were given those gorgeous tiles and other details! I love your space - it's seriously one of the best things I've ever seen on this site! It's completely inspiring!

Those tiles are extremely common in the UK and Australia - they are often used in foyers or even on porches - they are fabulous! Although in the rain, they are slippery AF.

I love what you did!

JP L, Ha, no, we are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, although we watch way too many UK home renovation shows . . . . I guess we are following in the footsteps of our late-19th Century American predecessors, who were also often shameless Anglophiles when it came to home design.

Speaking of which, again a little random, but we believe that sort of tile--it is definitely the same sort of pattern including border (if you look closely)--was in the White House kitchen in the early 1900s (when these photos were reportedly taken):

We gathered most of the English people using them today are more doing just what you suggested--walkways and foyers and such, maybe a few bathrooms. Sometimes with much more intricate patterns, some special inset tiles, and so forth. It can be very beautiful, but in the end we decided a relatively simple approach would work best in our kitchen, which we wanted to be a more informal space.

Just wow! visually so intersting, very british, i would love to be in the space, so much to admire. well done - you should be very proud!

Yo yinzer, looks like Dahntahn Abby n'at. Love them floors. Rule good. Rule, rule, rule good. Looks like a magazine, and not just the QED magazine. Could be a British magazine n'at. A+.

Stunning! Are you in Mount Lebo? I adore all of the beautiful remodels of the older homes with so much charm. My DD used to live there and now lives in the UK. It is great inspiration for adding charm. You have done an incredible job!

@Brian Hill Those historic kitchens really meant business! Thank you for posting those wonderful photos.

Thanks, Kendrah!

You nailed the Pittsburghese so well I won't even try. In fact we're both non-natives (after 30 years here, I have been upgraded from "tourist" to "visitor"), which was very rare back in the day but getting increasingly common. And we definitely drew a lot of inspiration from historic Pittsburgh.

Hello grapefruit1_ar !

We're actually in Regent Square (on the other side of Frick Park from Squirrel Hill). Very similar history to Mt. Lebanon, though, in that both were "streetcar suburbs" back in the day.

Hopefully your DD is liking the UK. We've really enjoyed our visits there--so much history and variety in such a compact area (by our American standards, at least).

Thanks, cupofkindnessgw

I think you picked up on what we ultimately responded to with these historic kitchens. They of course have cool, charming touches, but they were also very serious working spaces! Something about that combination really pulls us in.

And since I have a massive pile of them sitting in my research files, here are a few more photos of historic kitchens (these are modern photos of restored kitchens), starting with England, Tatton Hall in Cheshire, specifically:

And then Newport, R.I., specifically the Breakers:

And since the file is open anyway, here are some inspiration photos (and a brochure and a painting and book) for what became our combined boot room and nook.

Mount Edgcumbe House, Cornwall, England:

Frank Lloyd Wright home, Oak Park, Illinois:

Boot Room in the Cotswolds:

Boot Room in Escape to the Chateau (referenced in prior post):

Speke Hall, Liverpool:

Early 1900s Emerson ceiling fan catalog:

And finally, "Diagram of Interior of a Sun Parlor or Conservatory," from Milady's House Plants (FE Palmer, 1917):

@Brian Hill . Welcome to Pixburgh. I'm 4th generation yinzer though live elsewhere now. I'm glad newbies are moving there or else it would be a ghost town. I grew up in the no-man's-land between Penn and Forbes off of Braddock Avenue. Regent Sq is such a beautiful neighborhood. Enjoy your lovely kitchen.

Hey Kendrah!

If I understand where you are talking about, that is where I was actually living when I met the woman who I ended up marrying--a few blocks east of Braddock, north of Forbes and south of Penn. We then got our first apartment together just a few blocks away south of Forbes, then bought a starter home a couple blocks from our apartment, then bought our current home just a couple blocks from that.

Long story short, that first apartment north of Forbes introduced us to the area, and it has worked out great!

Totally random, but in doing house history research, I found out the couple that built our current home in the 1920s eventually moved into a condo north of Forbes (I suspect when they were empty nesters). Addictive neighborhood, I guess . . . .

Well done!