P R O J E C T K I N G S B U R Y K I T C H E N
Located in the Historical Skinker Debalivere Neighborhood of University City, this 1907 World’s Fair era home has been maintained to keep with the original architecture. Remodeled in the 1980’s, the kitchen had a less than desirable layout with a breakfast table centered in the room surrounded by oak wood cabinetry, blue laminate countertops with little storage or space to entertain. Per the client’s request, the kitchen remodel was to bring modern function into an old space while still remaining true to its historical character. The design of this kitchen is inspired by the client’s love for cooking and entertaining while still providing storage and functionality. The galley style layout of the olive painted cabinetry with honed black granite countertops divides up the prep and entertainment spaces to take full advantage of the entire room. Custom antique brass bistro shelves were hung from the ceiling on both sides of the kitchen to allow for accessible storage that takes advantage of the height and a space for our client to dry her home-grown herbs. New lighting features an acorn shaped fixture with a milk glass shade and an antique brass floral ceiling plate to represent an Art Nouveau Style which remains true to the age of the home and nature inspired concept. On the peninsula we weaved the modern luxuries of a new dishwasher and a trash/recycling center while keeping the historic style with an apron front farmhouse sink and a bridge faucet. Lastly, with limited wall space to hang art, we created a feature wall along the stairwell with a butterfly wallpaper to bring color and nature into the space. Once we were approved to start on the renovation, the crew got to work deconstructing the existing kitchen, but after the first week of demo, a mandatory lock down and quarantine had been initiated. We regrouped to create a safe and sanitary environment for our clients as well as the crew working on the renovation, but despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was able to remain on schedule and finished in the amount of time allotted.
A W A R D S & P U B L I C A T I O N S
St. Louis Homes & Lifestyles Magazine, Oct. 2020
Elle Decor Magazine, Nov. 2020
Design STL Magazine, Jan/Feb. 2021
C L I E N T T E S T I M O N I A L
“A good friend of ours had used Chelsea for design work and raved about her, so we interviewed her and others. Her passion and energy stood out. Even more importantly, she wanted to understand us, our house, our goals and our style before offering any ideas at all. We love the history of our house and the 120-year-old neighborhood and its resonance with “old St Louis” and World’s Fair days. We have kept the basic integrity of our house structure in its rooms and gardens. The main goals were: more available space without structural changes, implementing a double oven, a layout that accommodated our goals to cook a lot and entertain often, and striving for modern conveniences in our historical home. We actually started with another color in mind, but then she came up with the green suggestion and the amount of lighting and the light feel of the design and the tiles lent itself well to a color combination - olive green and brass— that is classic and will endure for decades without feeling trendy or dated. I have to mention the wallpaper. Who puts wallpaper in a kitchen, an old-fashioned botanical style wallpaper full of butterflies? Chelsea does. The kitchen design is very clean and quiet in color and vibe - and Chelsea several times recommended this wallpaper for one wall. We rejected it twice, but we love the fact that she resurrected the idea when we were making process and the wallpaper on just one wall is a surprise and delight that brings an entire artful and outdoors feel to a kitchen, we wanted to be artful and tied to the nature in which we delight with our gardens and landscaping. The wallpaper was a genius idea we could embrace only when we could see the kitchen taking its final shape.” During the COVID-19 shut down, “Worrying about all the people coming into the house on a continual basis - crew, plumbers, electricians, inspectors, HVAC experts - when you really don’t know them or want strangers in your house. Chelsea oversaw the process and we knew and trusted her to handle things so we didn’t have to be hands-on all the time in a season of life when we’d rather not be there in person. Her great design ability and ideas and desire to make something that would thrill us. Her attitude of “we’ll make a kitchen you’ll love for years” was what we wanted and got.”
