• September 12, 2024

Evanston Mansion Renovation – Kitchen After Demo

We have entered the demolition stage of the renovation of this 128-year-old mansion in Evanston. Architect Amy Berka tours us through the surprises of the kitchen and how it will be redesigned to become three separate spaces – kitchen, breakfast area and butler’s pantry.

Follow along!

• Episode 1 – Exterior and Foyer
• Episode 2 – Library and Family Room
• Episode 3 – Dining Room and Porch
• Episode 4 – Kitchen and Pantry
• Episode 5 – Stairwell and Landing
• Episode 6 – Primary Bedroom and Bathroom
• Episode 7 – Porch and Third Floor
• Episode 8 – Lower Level
• Episode 9 – Laundry and Guest Bath
• Episode 10 – Kitchen and Pantry After Demo
• Episode 11 – Primary Bath and Closet After Demo
• Episode 12 – Laundry and Guest Bath After Demo
• Episode 13 – Third Floor After Demo
• Episode 14 – Temporary Primary Bedroom

Transcript

Hello, hello! So we are back at our project in Evanston, this mansion that we’ve been working on, doing some demo since we’ve last been here. We have taken this kitchen and breakfast room and Butler’s Pantry down to the studs.

We always knew that there was a column here, but what’s really fun is we just sort of thought that maybe this column was put in as part of a previous renovation. Not the case. We know all the steel column and beams are original because of the way the bottom of the floor joists are cut to actually sit on this beam. It’s one of those fun surprises that we find when we take off all the finishes.

The Evanston Historical Center has existing drawings of what this first floor looked like. The space that I’m standing in, it’s very, very wide, very, very deep. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to make a giant space feel like three separate uses.

And so what we’ve decided to do is bring back this notion of the old closed Butler’s Pantry. This column is going to shift over 28 inches, and it’s actually going to be concealed then in a wall that makes the Butler’s Pantry. As soon as we build this wall here, it creates a natural area here to float a table.

These two windows are the biggest windows in the space. They have nice, big, deep sills, low sills. And so you’ll be able to sit at this table in this little nook area, have breakfast, and overlook the koi pond.

That wall there between the two windows, that’s where the stove was. It’s where the cooktop was. And there was a totally bizarre island on a crazy angle.

So we’ve decided now to take advantage of the length of this space, and the kitchen now is actually going to be set up like this. We’re going to do an induction range here, and that’s going to fit in between these two windows. So these two windows then will be pairing off of this focal point in the room.

Our island is actually going to be running this way. Refrigeration and freezer space is going to be between those two windows. And then, this area here, is going to be just sort of a drop zone. There’s going to be a dog feeding station, drawers that have outlets.

So as you come in, the thing that you’re going to see first is a really beautiful island and then a super striking sculptural hood.

This is a chimney, and you can see it on the outside of the building. There’s a fireplace directly above. You can see the framing there. The framing is going in the opposite direction.

That’s where the hearth extension is on the floor up above. And I’ve been doing this a little while now. I’ve never seen this before in my life. So this is another one of those like, “wow, cool” moments. The chimney face here on the inside is all made out of glazed firebrick, which I’ve never seen before. So another just really neat feature from houses of this era that you just, you don’t see anymore.

So being able to discover that has been, it’s been a fun part of the journey. I had also always wondered how they got all the duct work from the basement up to the second floor. Now we know.

You’re probably wondering why the light fixtures are still here. Well, the people who did the demo thought that maybe we’d want to keep them. They’re going to go. Don’t worry.

We’ve taken off the finished floor and we took off two layers. We took off a layer that had been put on in some previous renovation that was actually like a pre-finished laminate floor, which was never going to stay.

And then there was a floor beneath it that was in very, very bad condition. So we’ve taken all of those out. We’re now standing on the plywood subfloor and it’ll be ready one day for a new wood floor to go in.

We’ve been talking about the era of the house and how old it is. We have real deal two by four studs here. They’re old growth. So they’re super, super strong. And we get to see the backside of the finished wall that’s on t he opposite side here. And this is all the old lath.

And then you can see all of the plaster that’s coming through that lath. So it’s just kind of a fun way. We don’t build like this at all anymore. And when we get to discover things like this, it’s just kind of fun because, you know, I’d like to think that this house was built forever. We’re going to be part of this next generation owning it and things like this will still be able to stay in place.