Cody sat with Erin to speak about the design and build process of her new kitchen in Doylestown. Erin had lived in her home for 10 years. This would be her first major construction project and she was a bit nervous about it.
Erin’s finished kitchen with the exception of a dishwasher that is on backorder
A before shot of Erin’s kitchen as it was when we arrived
Erin had come across our company on Instagram. She saw posts of an attic renovation. When Erin asked her friend if she should contact Armitage to redesign and build her new kitchen, her friend said, “absolutely”.
Erin knew that it was time for a completely new kitchen, but still had some hesitation. “I was worried about changing the layout, I’d gotten comfortable with where things were. And, it’s an older house, I knew there might be some surprises. I saw pictures of a kitchen you guys did in an old house in Lambertville.” There typically are some surprises when working on older homes, but we’ve gotten pretty good at creative problem solving.
another angle of the kitchen when we arrived
It was a tough decision to make the choice to hire others to work on her home. “I like to do everything myself. It’s in my DNA. My dad never hired anyone to work on anything. I kept having this feeling that this isn’t something my family does.”
“Having others make decisions for me can be uncomfortable. But, Emeline put my mind at ease throughout the design process. “I knew where I wanted a countertop, and I knew of a color I wanted to use in the kitchen. Having a place to sit and look outside to the backyard was important too.” Erin was on a relatively tight budget, but was surprised by how many choices Emeline made available for her. “I wanted appliances that were more retro-looking and so many options were presented to me. It was great to have choices.”
“I needed Emeline to help me look at things in a different way. The 3D Design Renderings were very helpful. I was able to change the view and see everything from different angles. It would have been hard to understand the design if I had just been shown pictures of individual items.”
the first design concept some small details were revised after our second design meeting
At the start of construction, Erin had gone away on vacation for a week. Erin got a text from a neighbor saying, “they’re doing it!” “I knew It was out of my hands now. I need to just trust them to take care of everything.”
in process after demo and before installation
Erin worked at home during the kitchen build. She also used a section of her family room as a temporary kitchen space. “The guys told me if they had to turn off the water or turn off the electricity. Everyone was very polite. We all worked well together. And there was good communication throughout the project. If I had a question, I knew I could just give you guys a call.”
supply chain issues have delayed the delivery of the dishwasher and refrigerator they will match the range
During the build, Erin was happy to find a high level of craftsmanship. “I knew I wanted things to be right, and I could tell that all of you wanted things to be right also”. Along with all of the cabinetry and millwork, we built and installed a custom walnut countertop.
Moving into her new kitchen, Erin was pleased to have so much more space - extra counter space, new cabinets, and shelving. Erin was happy with her finished kitchen. “You made a first experience for me worth it”. We are also happy with how Erin’s kitchen turned out and proud of the work that we all did there.
new shelving and counter space to make the most of a small island