Knob Hill Re-Creation

Kitchen, Butler Pantry, Guest Bathroom

This home, constructed in the mid-80’s, was purchased by a family of 4 who’s life centers on entertaining and creating lifelong memories for family and friends. Integral to the home is a secluded backyard with a swimming pool and deck that serves as a focal point for 6 months (yes, this is Minnesota) of outdoor festivities.

After 35 years, the home needed some repair as well as thoughtful and creative modernization to accommodate the lifestyle of the new owner. The original kitchen was poorly designed and did not have the space or amenities to serve the current flow of activities. It would certainly not support the crush of activities anticipated as the kids grow into their own social network.

We were engaged to identify opportunities to enlarge the kitchen, create a butler’s pantry and guest bathroom that can serve both daily family use and social activities that revolve around the swimming pool. We also explored filling in an atrium between the kitchen and living room to allocate the square footage to a dining area that would overlook the pool. Our design effort generated 10 different options that satisfied either some or all of the program and a range of associated construction costs.

It was not an easy decision for our client, but they eventually selected an option that enlarged the kitchen by claiming some space from an existing guest bathroom and an under used formal dining room plus rebuilding the three-season porch into a butler’s pantry and guest/pool bathroom. The dining room function was moved to extra space in the living room and the old dining room became a home office.

The result is a much larger kitchen with modern amenities and a solid hickory island countertop that is over 4ft wide and 8ft long that supports our client’s active lifestyle. The new butler’s pantry serves both the kitchen and the pool, and the guest bathroom keeps traffic from the rear deck and pool away from the main part of the house.

Albers Design constructed this project using our proprietary CMA Advantage™ construction deliver method.

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