Kitchen of the Week: Preserving Period Charm in Atlanta
When designer Barbara English bought her Atlanta home, she was just the latest in a succession of owners that dated back to the 1880s. At that time kitchens were routinely housed in an outbuilding, to minimize damage from fires. Sometime after the Great Depression, the kitchen behind her house was moved to the second floor and outfitted with a rich array of hand-crafted fir cabinetry.
In updating the kitchen, English remained mindful of its past, preserving the cabinetry, dentil molding and hardwood floors. New additions — such as a marble tile backsplash and an antique Tiffany chandelier — pay tribute to the old, while contemporary upgrades still let the original craftsmanship shine.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Barbara English
Location: The historic West End neighborhood of Atlanta
Size: 200 square feet
Photography by Doug Sturgess
Although she's not sure of the exact year, English knows the kitchen was incorporated into the main house sometime in the last century. The previous owner added the stunning arched window; once part of a church, it's fitted with heavy, commercial-grade glass, but English still had to do some repairs on it when she moved in.
English pulled the deep teal wall color from the blue in the antique Tiffany stained-glass chandelier that hangs over the cooktop. The color provides a nice contrast to the room's orange-hued wood.
Wall paint: custom color, Benjamin Moore; chandelier: antique Tiffany
The old fir cabinets were made by a local craftsperson. English stained them to match the orange color on the new Brazilian cherry island. Nothing in the kitchen layout is symmetrical — a quirky feature of the original kitchen — so English kept the wood tones as consistent as possible to camouflage the funky layout. "The more your eye breaks things up, the more you notice subtle nuances," she says.
English and her contractor, David Warren of Renovating Atlanta, turned the rear mudroom into a spacious pantry. The painting above the sink once belonged to her grandfather. Set high above the sink and out of sunlight, it's protected from wear and tear but still plays into the kitchen's 19th-century vibe.
Island cabinetry and staining of all cabinetry: Renovating Atlanta; countertops: granite veneer, Granite Transformations; dark island top: Black Galaxy granite, Oldcastle Surfaces; backsplash: marble with black onyx inserts, The Tile Shop
The arched heart pine doors leading into the kitchen mimic the window at the back of the space. English saved these doors but installed new leaded glass to match the window.
English preserved most of the original kitchen. The previous owner had built the wooden countertops out of old flooring, integrating the counters into the cabinets' framework. This meant English would have had to tear everything out to replace them.
AFTER: Since the countertops were damaged but couldn't be replaced without destroying the cabinets, English applied a ¼-inch veneer of engineered stone over the top. The new island has authentic Black Galaxy granite installed around the cooktop.
Microwave, dishwasher, oven, refrigerator: GE; cabinetry hardware: Anthropologie; window shades: Ikea; cooktop: Jenn-Air
The island originally stood in the same location but had an awkward dining table height, with an elevated base underneath the cooktop that made it fully visible from the adjacent family room.
English added a wood surround around three sides of the island, to block the cooktop from view.
Although parts of the kitchen feel distinctly new, it still honors its 19th-century construction and remains in line with the historic style of Atlanta's West End neighborhood.
More: Modernize Your Old Kitchen Without Remodeling
