SoPo Cottage: July 2026

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

The Craftsman Cottage Kitchen Got a Major Update

It’s been a crazy few weeks getting the house finished and on the market. We had an amazing Open House and are now under contract. Finally, I can spend some time posting ‘Before & After’ photos. And this house has some great ones!

I’m going to start with the kitchen which had some of the biggest changes. Like many old houses, this one had a dark, cramped kitchen. It was a place for the woman of the house to turn out meals, but it wasn't the family gathering place it is today.

Kitchen - the starting point

To change that, we started by removing the structural wall between the kitchen and dining room (a big milestone!!!). That allowed us to expand the footprint – making this kitchen much bigger than the original.

The structural wall between the kitchen and dining room was removed

What a difference!

We also eliminated the original furnace flue (we installed heat pumps) and opened up the doorway to the living room. That allowed us to move the refrigerator to the side wall and create space for the island.

By gutting everything, installing new plumbing and electrical is much easier

All of that made this kitchen feel like it belongs in this century. But we also kept original woodwork and complimented it with a cherry island, which helps maintain the antique character of the home.

And the results - well it's a huge change!

I am in love with the calacatta marble, penny round tile that I used behind the stove and as an accent strip across the backsplash. You can't go wrong with natural stone (although I wouldn't use it for a countertop. My daughter has carrera marble counters and they take a lot of extra care that most of us wouldn't want to deal with). I always use quartz for countertops, it's easy to maintain.