KAM Residence, Washington, DC This modest retirement apartment on an upper floor of a mid-city apartment building has high ceilings, large north and west facing windows and a great location. The project scope initially included the replacing of an existing step-up kitchen with a ground-level kitchen and an improvement in storage in adjacent spaces. Because of the opportunities discovered in the demolition phase of the work, the kitchen was replaced, the adjacent living room area was enlarged, the existing strip oak floors were removed and replaced and the master bedroom suite was reconfigured to add a walk-in closet and new high efficiency heating and air conditioning system for the apartment. The new "U" shaped kitchen configuration with mirrored backsplashes and an open counter to the main living space, visually expand this new space to create a sense of generosity in this modest configuration. The upper wall cabinets were designed so Mrs. Kam, who has limited vertical reach, can easily access a lower tear of cabinets designed to provide for all the daily needs and storage, while a second upper tear expands the storage capacity of the kitchen for storage of dry goods, extra dishes and secondary use items. New cherry floors were added to compliment the new cherry kitchen cabinetry, unifying the wood elements in the space creating an expanded sense of the millwork component of the project. The single small closet in the master bedroom was expanded to create a very generous walk-in closet by encompassing the old mechanical closet and a discovered abandoned kitchen, entombed in a previous renovation. In the living room we created a new built-in Audio-Visual center from a small linen closet and adjacent unusable space, which extends the living room by adding picture shelf space and removing a cumbersome large screen TV from a previous side wall location. Bright new paint colors in the living room and bedroom, accent the wonderful north light in the apartment, providing a cherry backdrop for the clients art and antique collection. |
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