Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018 - 92

ESIGNER BARBARA ROTH IS A SUCKER FOR RENOVATING an old Victorian
house, so it was lucky that a couple in Beacon, N.Y. - the wife a dear friend of
hers - owned such a home and were in need of a new kitchen.
The former space, which may or may not have ever been renovated, was
in the back of the house and had little room for storage or appliances, and
the previous refrigerator was located in a nearby closet. There was no space
for an island or a table for dining, and the tiny stove did nothing to grant the
homeowners' cooking wishes.
"My friend's husband is a great cook - he is the kind of person who will
start a sauce before work,"said Roth, who is a founding partner at New York
City-based Camille Rossy. "They wanted a kitchen that could outfit their
needs even in a small space."
Those needs included ample storage for various pots and pans, an area for
the children to have breakfast each morning and high-performance appliances.

BELOW AND RIGHT The window

alcove accommodates the
sink, faucet, dishwasher &
surrounding herb garden.

CHANGING FLOOR PLANS

The designer chose an alternate location in the house for the new kitchen, but
like all the others, there was a window or door on every wall, and the 13-ft. by
18-ft. space was long and narrow.
"My clients and I went through a number of layouts before we got to the one
that worked best,"said Roth."One plan had the sink in the middle of where the
island was going to go, but it would have been too crowded with someone also
at the stove. Another featured two sinks, but there was no room."
The designer and her team left the existing architecture in place,which included
8-ft. windows low to the floor and exceptional millwork, but added cabinets for
storage;a long,thin island for prep work and seating;and professional appliances.An
original alcove to the right of the stove,which may have been unused space because
of the windows on the wall,now houses a sink,a dishwasher and an herb garden.
"Putting the sink in the windowed alcove and making the clients understand how that would work was a challenge," said Roth. "I couldn't find one
decent picture to explain how this would lay out, and a good visual is always
a big help. I am grateful that my clients had faith."

Determined to use every available square foot, she pulled the sink away from
the wall because of the low window sill height and lined the empty space with
stone to make it a waterproof area for growing herbs.
FULFILLING STORAGE NEEDS

Working with little wall space, Roth installed a 9-ft. pullout pantry next to
the refrigerator - the only area without a window - as well as a smaller cabinet
unit on that same wall. Cabinets above the refrigerator accommodate lessused items. The island houses three large base cabinets for pots and dishes,
and 2-ft. cabinets on either side of the stove store cooking utensils.
The designer converted a pass-through adjacent to the kitchen into a room
for storage of dishes used for entertaining in lower cabinets and one upper
unit next to a large window.This room can also be used as a bar during a party
or for hiding dirty dishes until the event is over.
"When it is just the family, they use it as a place
to charge phones and hold briefcases and purses,"
said Roth, who plans to use the closet next to the
refrigerator as a pantry in a future renovation that
will also include the addition of a nearby mudroom.
HURDLING CHALLENGES

One obstacle the designer overcame was creating a
kitchen that could handle a lot of activity in a small
space with the physical challenge of the windows
and doors.
"I had to manipulate the island - not making it too
wide - to accommodate a breakfast bar for the two
kids and prep space for the homeowners," she said.
"We didn't need much dining space here since there is
a formal dining room on the other side of the kitchen."
To ensure the pathways would be clear with the
30.-in.-wide island, Roth walked around the space
before the installation to measure extensions and
determine if doorways would interfere.

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Kitchen & Bath Business - January 2018

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