Oregon Home | 49 A Portland designer who specializes largely in residential remodels, Pearson says the Buckman clients’ main request for remodeling the kitchen and upstairs bathroom was a common one. “They needed more space,” she says. “That’s a pretty regular request — clients often need their space to live bigger, but we need to stay within the existing walls.” Before the remodel, the kitchen had very little counter space and limited cabinetry. A bulky refrigerator ate up a sizeable chunk of the room. Upstairs, the bathroom had only a pedestal sink and no usable counter space. And an odd nook once used for a stacked washer and dryer offered little functional space. Pearson’s design for the refreshed kitchen included beautiful Pratt + Larson tile throughout and new custom cabinets. On a previously blank wall, new cabinets offer functional storage, countertop workspace and hidden microwave storage. At the far-end wall of the kitchen, updated windows are flanked by two tower storage cabinets with counter space and seating between. Below the countertops on one side is a set of drawers; below the other is a custom dog-feeding station with a wallmount pot filler for topping off a water bowl. (Though the homeowners’ dog, Lenny, passed before the remodel was completed, the station is ready for a new friend when the owners are.) “The refrigerator placement posed the biggest challenge in the space,” Pearson says. To solve it, Pearson and her team opted to remove an old, nonfunctioning chimney running through the walls from the basement to the roof. Taking it out opened up a perfect cavity for the refrigerator. “That was one of the really cool installation elements of the project,” Pearson says. “The refrigerator is recessed into the wall and visually went away!” Losing the chimney also created space upstairs for a new linen closet.
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