Restoration Recipes

FEDERAL CASE

Small designed cabinets reminiscent of antique cupboards for the 1820s kitchen in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

What do you do when your house predates any modern concept of a kitchen? This was the case in an 1820s Federal-style stone house being restored by John Milner Architects, Inc., in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The existing 1970s kitchen was located in what was originally the house’s front parlor. Milner wanted to return that room to its intended purpose and needed to find another site for the kitchen. He chose an ell off the dining room that had its early 19th-century cooking hearth and original wrought-iron cooking crane still intact. After carefully researching the history of the space, the firm replastered and whitewashed the walls, restored the 19th-century six-over-six windows, and installed a floor of salvaged bricks.

Once the backdrop for the kitchen was set, Lori Small of Waterbury Associates in Onancock, Virginia, worked closely with homeowner Pat Celii to create a kitchen suitable for the house’s era. First Small interviewed Celii about what was important in the space. Above all, Celii wanted the kitchen to be sensitive to the historic features of the house. Working within the existing footprint of the room, Small designed period-inspired cabinetry of raised-panel, beaded inset doors with wood knobs, hand-carved turn buttons, mortise-and-tenon joinery, and reproduction cut nails. Small varied the cabinets’ heights and depths to give the look of distinct cupboards and closets that contrast with the uniform counters and cabinetry found in 20th- and 21st-century kitchens. For the appliances, hidden behind cabinet overlays, Small designed wrought-iron, acorn-motif handles forged by a local blacksmith. The cabinetry was then painted a colonial red over mustard. Small chose countertops and a farmhouse sink made of soapstone for its rustic look.

From the exposed cross beams in the center of the room’s high ceilings, Small hung a reproduction colonial tin chandelier and similar chandeliers over each window. (A wood cornice above the cabinetry hides wiring.) Small was concerned that Celii wouldn’t have enough storage in the kitchen and suggested a center island, but Celii preferred an antique farmhouse table to complement the house’s early period. Although the kitchen appears simple, it is highly functional with a commercial dishwasher, trash compactor, spice rack, and apothecary drawers. Celii’s collection of antique colonial cookware, brownware, and pewter complete the look in this new “Federal”-style kitchen.