Mid-summer of 1999, Home Energy, Inc. undertook a kitchen remodel for Doug and Melinda Crossman of Newburyport, Massachusetts. Ten years earlier, the Crossmans had remodeled the kitchen, adding a family room. They decided the kitchen needed to be updated and procured the services of architect William March for the design work. Mr. March redesigned the kitchen space, proposing to add a breakfast nook and a screened porch with a deck to the rear of the house. Upon reviewing the plans we were eager to land the job.

The architect's plans blended the addition seamlessly into the existing design. We did have one suggestion to improve the kitchen design: There was a post in the middle of the kitchen that wrapped the waste pipe and plumbing for the second floor bathroom. We recommended it be removed and the span supported with a built-up "glulam" beam.

Construction began with the removal of a deck and laundry room at the rear of the house and the subsequent gutting of the existing kitchen. We set up a temporary kitchen in the dining room which Melinda dubbed the "Moscow Room", due to its Spartan facilities. The framing, plumbing, electrical, insulation, and plastering were completed without complication. The installation of the cabinets, however, was a nightmare. Due to settling of the nearly 200 year old structure, the floor in the old kitchen was off level by almost two inches from the outside of the house to the center. To resolve the problem, support beams were added in the basement and a 3/4" plywood subfloor was added to conceal the shim work under the base cabinets. The finish installation was flawless.

The architect's specifications for the finish of the screen porch and breakfast nook tied in very well with the house. He did not specify the flooring materials to be used. We recommended tile for the floor in the kitchen. Tile was also installed at the new rear entry. The flooring for the breakfast nook was wide pine, milled locally, which matched the flooring installed during the previous remodel. For the screened porch, we recommended fir strip flooring, commonly used in porches at the turn of the century. For the deck, we attempted to reuse the cedar from the old rear deck; after a botched attempt, we recommended mahogany, which Doug agreed was an excellent choice.

The finished product is stunning. The matching gable ends of the screened porch and breakfast nook bring the rear of the house into balance. The vaulted ceilings, with windows in the gable ends, are an excellent design feature which further brighten the space. The wall of windows in the breakfast nook offers a view of Doug's backyard flower garden. Due to our attention to detail, the addition complements beautifully the existing structure.