PROJECTS: Kitchen Solutions | By Chuck Ross
I
n 1948, modernist architect
(and Bauhaus graduate)
Marcel Breuer was commis-
sioned by New York City's
Museum of Modern Art to
design and build a prototype
home for the modern American
family in the museum's gar-
den. It took only four years for
an unauthorized copy of that
design to hit the then U.S. ter-
ritory of Alaska (still five years
from statehood). The resulting
house was recently revitalized,
with a renovation illustrat-
ing the timeless appeal of a
design that's more than 60
years old.
The kitchen and living area
became the centerpiece of this
home's extensive renovation,
and, possibly, the renovation's
biggest departure from Breuer's
original vision. Despite all the
talk of open floor plans, many
early modernists — apparently,
Breuer (or, at least, his Alaskan
imitator) among them — hid
away functional areas, such as
kitchens. The original in this
residence was small enough
to have doubled as a furnace
room. Now, the kitchen opens
to an adjacent great room to
create the entertainment area
the home's new owners sought.
CENTERING AROUND
AN ISLAND
At the center of this wide-open
space is a walnut butcher-
block island, in an L-shape
that comes close to outlining
where the walls of the original
kitchen stood. Jana Seda, inte-
rior designer with the project's
general contractor, Trailboss
Solutions, describes the reasons
for the island's prominence. "It
was important for [the space]
to be open and welcoming, and
they wanted an island at the cen-
ter of it. And because [one of the
owners] is an architect, he had
some very particular ideas."
That owner, Dan Seiser, is a
partner in the Anchorage-based
firm Bezak Durst Seiser. It was a
new experience for Seda to work
so closely with a client who also
was an architect with a broad
vision and a fine eye for detail.
The big-picture element
can be seen in Seiser's ability
to envision a full palette of
pattern and color in a single
material — wood in this case —
The open floorplan of the kitchen and living room serves as the
centerpiece and entertainment area of this home's remodel.
Modernist
knockoff,
REDUX
Alaskan kitchen is transformed
into an open, welcoming space
with prominent use of wood and
careful attention to detail
22 July 2014 QR ForResidentialPros.com
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