It all started when Betsy Roebottom’s stove broke. She’s lived in a duplex in Shorewood for 14 years, and her eclectic aesthetic touches every room in the house…except her kitchen, which is dated and worn.
She replaced the old-fashioned stove with a shiny new Viking model, but this improvement made the sad state of the rest of the room a great relief.
Of course, she had thought about renovating the kitchen before. She knows that with a few tweaks, she can increase the footprint of her counter and improve the flow and function of the room. Interior design has always been something of a charm to her, but such a massive (and expensive) upgrade wasn’t needed until new equipment made it possible. “So I designed the kitchen around the stove,” she said.
The first step is to find the right people for the job and then convince them to do it. “You have to be an attractive buyer,” advises Rowbottom. “It’s not about censoring them. The thing is, they censor you.”
Robertton found what she was looking for in Dustin Christian, a professional builder and carpenter who worked alone as Focal Point Carpentry. In order to attract him to her, she made it clear that she was decisive, interested in his opinion and, most importantly, accommodating. She waited a year for him to take on the job, and her patience paid off. “It’s such a gift to work with a versatile person who would really like to have a unique cuisine.”
Christian was interested in Roe Barton’s plan. “She has great vision,” he said. It helps that he has a soft spot for turn-of-the-century Milwaukee homes and enjoys working on projects that honor his architectural history. The short drive from home is also a bonus.
Rowbottom loves the look of English kitchens, so she pored over the British House & Garden magazine for inspiration. Rowbottom loves the look of English kitchens, so she pored over the British House & Garden magazine for inspiration. Роуботтом нравится внешний вид английских кухонь, поэтому она скучала по британскому журналу House & Garden в поисках вдохновения. Rowbottom loves the look of English kitchens, so she missed the British magazine House & Garden for inspiration. Rowbottom 喜欢英式厨房的外观，因此她仔细阅读了British House & Garden 杂志以寻找灵感。 British House & Garden 杂志以寻找灵感。 Роуботтом нравится, как выглядит английская кухня, поэтому она просматривала журнал British House & Garden для вдохновения. Rowbottom loves the look of English cuisine, so she looked through British House & Garden magazine for inspiration. She wanted the kitchen to be dramatic (with a hint of a moody color scheme), comfortable (with a bumpy floor), and practical (everything else).
When work began on cutting through the five layers of linoleum that had accumulated over the 100 years of the house’s existence, both Robertton and Christian were stunned by what they found underneath: pine. Repairing the tree was an easy decision, according to Rowbottom. Considering the age and location of the house, it’s no surprise that the pavement was redecorated under the drywall, buttercity tiles were found. She left it open for additional interest, saying, “All we really have to do is wash it off because it’s been hanging on the wall for years.”
Christian’s bespoke cabinets show a British influence, with furniture-like legs and finely cut drawers and doors that give the appearance of a frame rather than resting on the outside of the base. Rowbottom offered to buy prefabricated cabinets, but Christian liked to make them himself. In retrospect, Christian liked the result of the construction, but he admitted that he underestimated the importance of the work he was doing. “This is probably one of the few full kitchen projects I’ve ever done,” he said.
When it comes to things like cabinet hardware, it’s helpful to have a clear idea of ​​what you’re looking for first. “Then it’s just a battle to find who you want,” Rowbottom said. Although bronze was on trend, she opted for a chrome finish because it matched the kitchen on her visualization board. Six months of makeover gave her enough time to hone her skills as a second hand salesman. Even the huge light fixture in the center of her kitchen has been upgraded – from a hangar at Mitchell International Airport!
Rowbottom’s dog, Derby, is a good runner in the area, so the floor cleaner wants to make sure he understands that pine is a softer, less durable wood. But Robertton didn’t mind. The same goes for countertops. The concrete has worn down over the years, but Rowbottom loves the utilitarian look of handmade. “There is already such a beautiful bronzer that there are only layers of life in it.”
Even these flaws seem to be part of Robertton’s master plan. “I really want my kitchen to feel like someone lives here. She will never be perfect. Nothing is perfect in my house.”
Lazy Susan is lazy, and trash isn’t necessarily trash (i.e., thinking outside the box). Instead of adding the obligatory swivel shelf in her “everything dies” corner closet, Rowbottom cut a hole in the opposite wall to make room for her dog’s supplies in the landing. What about trash? Holes in the countertop save it from having to open cabinets to throw out trash. “I can always tell where the trash is [in other people's kitchens] because you touch it a lot and it’s dirty.”
You don’t have to be a chef to have a beautiful kitchen. “Despite the fact that I’m preparing a bowl of cereal, I get a lot of pleasure from being in the room,” says Rowbottom. One of her luxury items is an Italian-made Rohl faucet that she found on eBay. It’s one of the most used items in any kitchen, and after six months of using her new kitchen, she suspects the price has dropped to $1 a use.
Don’t take it to heart. Rowbottom admits waiting 14 years can be a bit extreme, but she says her knowledge of the kitchen helped her find the vision. She had long been accustomed to the small area of ​​the room, so she modeled the plan after the boat’s galley, “well equipped and thought out”, and gave each beautiful thing its own place.