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Writer's pictureAlex Uhll

Renovation of 1820/1990 Cape - Kitchen

In 1990 an addition was done to provide a large kitchen and dining area. When my mom bought this house it was like a dream come true for her since she loved to entertain and often hosted parties with more than 50 people in her 2-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. This was like a palace! This kitchen was home to many gatherings my mother hosted over the 10 years she enjoyed living here. It had double ovens and an island gas range she would use for days leading up to the big event. She loved the wood stove and would have it cranking for winter celebrations, it was toasty in that kitchen and there was always something to eat.



This was my mom's dining room. The table came from a Maine auction in the 1970's, lived at our house on Youngtown Road and traveled back to Brooklyn when we sold that house in the 1980's. It's a great looking table but a bitch to sit at. You see it's not a dining room table at all but a work table so when you went to sit, unless you were a kid or petite, you would whack your knees on the lip that hung down. I always had bruises on my legs from that table. Make note of the butcher block and corner cabinet though. Those have a story too and I love them.



Reno can be stressful and chaotic! Luckily we were still living in the first home we purchased upon moving to Lincolnville in 2006 throughout this process.


This is what the entry looked like prior to adding the mudroom. There was little room for kicking off snow covered or muddy boots and with so little space the chimney was really in the way. As much as we loved the wood stove we retired it to give the kitchen a better flow. Plus the heat that thing put off was insane.


A wide-angle view of the kitchen & dining areas. Exciting to have an (almost) clean slate! The flooring was a dark green stick down lenolium tile that showed every speck of dirt so we pulled it up and got the sub floor ready for the wood flooring. By this point in the renovation, all of the windows had been replaced, the mudroom was framed out and the walls were painted. We chose Sherwin Williams "gray screen" for the kitchen dining room.



Here is the completed view from the kitchen into the parlor. We ordered cabinets from Cliq Studios, our countertop is granite from Morning Star. I really wanted soapstone but we decided it was too soft, I've been known to drop things and Tommy thought granite would be more user friendly for my lack of gracefulness. I absolutely love this granite and hug it from time to time. Yes, I hug my granite. We went with a prefinished clear birch flooring. Three years later and it still looks great and we love it. The fridge and dishwasher are Kitchenaid and the range is a Capital, all from Agren Appliance in Topsham. We went with the Capital range because of the high BTU output from all four of the burners. Tommy needed high output for beer brewing. It was hard getting used to it but we absolutely love it now. This kitchen is a dream to cook and gather in. Take a peek at the next photo for a view from a different angle.


As you can see, we extended the mud room to the garage. There is more storage than you can see in this photo, and it was a great addition to our space. We decided to do a nickle gap pine on the walls because we really like the look and it was a small enough space so it wasn't overwhelming. The wooden whale on the wall is by Lincolnville artist Paula Salerno. We found it years ago in a Thomaston shop and we just love it.


Here is the complete dining room! This is my favorite spot to sit in the house. It looks out over some of the rolling fields where deer often wander at dusk. The light fixture was an anniversary gift that my mom gave us and it's traveled with us and hung in three of our homes. In the corner are the butcher block table and cabinet that were in my moms dining room. The butcher block came from a Brooklyn butcher shop and the cabinet always housed my moms collection of wine glasses. We love them both and now the table is the base for our bar. I had this weird goal that I wanted to be the kind of host that could welcome someone to our home and ask "what would you like to drink?" and no matter what it was I would have all the fixins'. So far so good. I take note of what my friends drink and make sure to always have that. Not that we've entertained in the past year but booze doesn't spoil (does it?) so bring on 2021. Or 2022, whatever, we'll be ready.


Another view into the mud room. The closet to the right is now a pantry, it used to be the coat closet. Tommy reduced the depth by half and it still holds ton of stuff. The chimney doesn't feel as obtrusive as it used to and it's been the source of much conversation since it now is home to my bunny head. If you're friends with me on Facebook you probably know what I mean. I love it but not everyone does. Also, the cap we put in where the wood stove used to go is metal and a great place for poerty magnets. A friend gave us a box of naughty (poetic) magnetic words which were a huge hit at our last New Year's Eve party. Not appropriate for kids but kids shouldn't be at our New Year's Eve parties. If you've ever been to one you know why, if you've never been to one you really should try to come. We have fun.



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