Scope
The owners had lived with the original 1920s galley layout for 12 years. They wanted to open the kitchen to the dining room, fit a 6-burner range, and add an island for the kids' homework hour.
Decisions that mattered
- Removed the load-bearing wall between kitchen and dining (added an LVL header).
- Custom Shaker cabinets in painted poplar — local mill, 8-week lead time.
- Calacatta quartz counters · 3cm.
- Range moved to the exterior wall to vent through the soffit.
What surprised us
The original subfloor was 1×8 pine on top of joists with no diagonal blocking. We added blocking + 3/4" ply before the new tile went in.
