The existing house is an original Palmer, Willis, and Lamdin house, constructed in 1926. As a quick history lesson, architect Edward L. Palmer and his firm designed hundreds of North Baltimore residences throughout Guilford, Homeland and Roland Park, often drawing from English or French country architecture. Palmer believed in designing houses with an insistence on high architectural standards but also with a consideration of economic feasibility.
However, like many houses of that era, what worked in the 1920s became outdated, cramped and dysfunctional by today’s standards. The owners felt that their kitchen needed extra counter space, more storage, and an improved layout. A prior addition expanded the size of the kitchen minutely, but didn’t actually solve any problems.
Thornhill Design Studio’s solution to finding space was to move and stack the basement staircase under the existing second floor staircase. This gave the kitchen some functional proportions to accommodate a contemporary suite of appliances and cooking activities. Thornhill also removed a wall and expanded the footprint of the kitchen into what used to be a butler’s pantry.
This project is proof that many times the key to improving the function of a house isn’t necessarily to make it bigger by adding an addition. Rather, look internally to see what can be accomplished by better utilizing the space that already exists.