The Queen Village condo had intimidatingly good bones. Originally constructed in the 1920's by architect Max Bernhardt, the Classical Revival building first served as a food warehouse for decades before being converted into three luxurious housing units in the 90's.
The historic Coroneos Brothers building, designed by Max Bernhardt & constructed in the 1920s The Coroneos Brothers brought their grocery import/export business to an area of South Philadelphia
that welcomed many immigrants in the early 1900s. The first floor of the condo housed the living room, dining room, lounge, and playroom, all within a cavernous open space. A cramped kitchen was hidden around the corner, completely disconnected from the other rooms. The modern architecture included tall wood plank ceilings, punctuated with black industrial beams. Light poured in from the large, numerous windows on either side, as well as from a skylight above the two-story dining room.
It was gorgeous space, if a bit dated - but was it being properly utilized?
Enter Design Manifest, ready to improve function and put our spin on this special home.
Our reimagined kitchen in its new location
From time to time, we are lucky enough to be asked to help design the homes of our friends and family. This is the case with our Queen Village Contemporary project. Naomi's friends - a family of four with children aged 8 and 11 - had decided it was time to elevate their living space from toddler-friendly chaos to grown-up sophistication. This was a couple with great taste, eager to entertain stylishly again now that their children had gotten a bit older. The family had lived in the condo for over a decade and had previously refreshed the upper floors and dining room with two other decorators. This time, the challenge was their main living space.
BEFORE: The main living space, viewed from the lounge and including living, dining, and playroom.
The lounge and hallway were three steps up from the sunken living/ dining and play space.
The epic open concept space was gorgeous - and also challenging. With no walls, every space is visible - there's no hiding anything! The current layout functioned decently, but did not have the flow and cohesion our clients were looking for. The far end was dominated by the playroom, with toys and chaos on full display to the rest of the space. While this layout worked very well to have the playroom in a central location when the kids were very little, it was no longer a requirement. The adjoining dining room had been previously decorated by another designer, and the transition between child and adult spaces was jarring.
Meanwhile, the original kitchen was tucked away on the opposite side of the condo, small and disconnected from the bright, open living spaces. Relocating it was a bold move, but a necessary one - if the kitchen is truly the heart of the home, why was this one so far removed?
BEFORE: Tucked behind a wall, the kitchen was accessed through a narrow passage from the playroom.
The 1st floor layout, before
While our clients agreed the kitchen was too cramped, they were split on moving its location. The husband was excited right away at the prospect, while the wife needed more convincing to make the drastic change. No problem for us! As we do, we offered two layout options - one with the kitchen in old location, and one with the kitchen reimagined in the play space. As soon as they saw our space plans, it was clear that this was the right move, and they were convinced to make the switch!
The schematic design that convinced our clients to relocate the kitchen Moving the kitchen into the former playroom area allowed us to connect it with the dining and living spaces. As an added bonus, the former kitchen could become a more private & casual den area where someone could tuck away and watch TV in peace and privacy. This reconfiguration allowed us to redefine the flow of the condo, addressing the family’s needs as they transitioned from a space primarily for young children to one that embraced a more grown-up lifestyle.
BEFORE: This is the wall of the playroom we envisioned would house the stove
Our 3D rendering of the space
AFTER: The new kitchen, more centrally located in the main living space
Our goal was to create a design that felt in harmony with the existing beauty and character of the space. For the mood, we leaned into the undeniable industrial & contemporary vibe of the condo. This project had a more restrained color palette than most of our work, with softer colors and less pattern, but we kept it interesting with a mix of beautiful natural materials and textures. Prior to our renovation, our clients style leaned modern, with a number of mid century and chinoiserie pieces, so we took that influence and tried to build on it as much as possible with repeated curvy, arched shapes.
ROOM BOARD: Earth tones and natural textures add character to modern lines
The stunning green quartzite was our main inspiration in the kitchen, and we used it generously on the countertops and as a showstopping slab splash in the range area. Our curve motif was repeated on the range wall, where an arched cabinetry cutout helped to frame and highlight the gorgeous natural stone. To add organic interest without getting too busy, we mixed two different stains of maple cabinetry and topped our pill-shaped maple island with a contrasting Lavezzi quartzite countertop.
AFTER: Rounded wooden legs highlight the curved shape of the oval island. We sourced fabulous counter stools from Philly-based company Lostine, which mirror the light wood tone of the floor and add a pop of rust from leather seats.
AFTER: The showstopping green quartzite slabsplash is framed with arched wood cabinetry panels.
Mixed metal finishes of brass and chrome add energetic contrast.
It's SO easy for the sightlines to become visually cluttered in an open space. We took great pains to conceal as much as possible in the kitchen, giving our clients a generous amount of closed cabinetry storage and stashing their appliances behind pocket doors.
Careful planning and measurements helped us stash away a remarkable number of appliances!
Even though we love closed storage - we never like to design a room that's just boxes! It was important that this kitchen, with its extensive custom cabinetry, not look like a huge wall of rectangles. We gave some visual relief by mixing in white door panels to keep the fridge wall fresh, with half-moon cabinet pulls for a deco feel.
Another break from the cabinetry comes via open shelving in the coffee bar -
formerly the kitchen pass-through.
The passage from the original playroom to kitchen was transformed into a dedicated nook with a beverage fridge and ample pantry storage, finished with beautiful zellige tile that adds texture and shine. It's nice to have a specific area to "do your coffee thing" that's out of the way of the regular kitchen comings and goings. This spot is filled with light from the adjoining window that sparkles off of the organic backsplash tile to make the mundane task of coffeemaking feel special.
One of the key challenges in this condo was how to effectively define each area within the open floor plan. Without walls, all rooms were in view of one another, and it was important to keep them all in harmony. The goal was for each space to have its own vibe: Each room needed its own distinct personality while feeling related to the rest of the space.
Architectural changes helped further define the spaces. One especially impactful move was to raise the floor in the kitchen. The existing condo had all rooms on one level, except for a raised lounge on one end. Lifting the kitchen floor helped us in multiple ways: By creating stairs and mimicking the elevation of the lounge on the opposite end, we created a feeling of unity and flow. The dual raised areas also created a sunken space for the dining and living rooms, better defining the space and making the area feel more intimate. This also allowed us to conceal our plumbing installation within the raised floor of the new kitchen, and the extra height meant that anyone working in the kitchen had a good vantage point to watch the living room TV or interact with guests in the adjacent spaces.
BEFORE: The transition from dining room to playroom was ill-defined
Our 3D rendering of the space
AFTER: We were able to conceal the new plumbing underneath the raised kitchen platform,
which also gave the space grandness and symmetry with the rest of the living space
To satisfy our client’s desire for separation without completely closing off the kitchen, we designed a custom partition at counter-height between the kitchen and dining room. Applying a limewash treatment to this piece gave it a hearth-like feel without being too literal. We tiled the back with a dimensional, rust-colored lapidary tile to make it more of a stylistic feature and added glass shelving for decorative display.
DURING CONSTRUCTION:
We had to be thoughtful about the tile layout since each there was organic variation between each individual tile.
On the left, you can see the dining room wall that inspired the limewash finish of the partition wall.
AFTER: A tiled partition is both space definition and art piece.
A limewash finish gives it unity with the previously finished dining room wall.
We know we've succeeded in designing a space when it makes you want to linger there. Our client reports that she comes home from work, goes straight to the kitchen - and stays there for the rest of the day! "I cook, I putter, I sit at the island...I lounge in every spot of the kitchen and feel so lucky to be in the space!"
From her vantage point in the kitchen, our client can take in all the rest of her beautiful home - the rest of which be will revealed in our next chapter on the Queen Village Contemporary!
Photography by Rebecca McAlpin
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