Kitchen renovation reflects Colonial elements of 1920’s home

By RITA KUEBER

As much as the young married couple loved the 1920s-era Dutch Colonial in Cleveland Heights, they were well aware of its flaws.

The original kitchen was small, as was the dining room. They wanted a half bath on the first floor and there was additional work to be done on the second floor. The primary bedroom was large but lacked a closet. The upstairs bath needed renovation as well. Despite these flaws, they purchased the house and then engaged the services of Reflections, an interior design firm of Cleveland Heights, but soon to open in a historic property in Oakwood Village. (See sidebar.)

“There were definitely a lot of challenges. This is a really fun couple with fun personalities. They loved cooking together and we were excited to work with them,” says Marissa Matiyasic, owner and principal of Reflections. Together with her lead designer Katie Camino, they drew up plans for the first floor and most of the second, and work with the contractor began. Here, we’re going to give the kitchen project the in-depth look it deserves.

The first obstacle was huge. The idea was to swap out the kitchen and dining areas, combining them into a larger, more open room. Right in the middle was a large brick chimney, too big to move and too much a part of the original structure to eliminate. “We decided to use it as a way to divide the kitchen into zones – one for cooking and one for dishwashing,” Marissa says. “It was a cool feature that brought character to the space.” The chimney was stripped down to bare brick and put to good use as a way to anchor floating shelves facing the dishwasher zone.

The next obstacle was the issue all homeowners, builders, and designers faced during the supply-chain crisis. “We waited forever for the appliances,” Marissa says. “They still didn’t have the refrigerator they needed when they had family come into town.” Fortunately, through a good relationship between the designers and the vendor, the couple was able to borrow a temporary fridge to tide them over.

The designers named the project ‘Classic Meets Whimsy.’ Think traditional with a twist. No matter what you call it, the finished kitchen is a harmonious collage of materials and colors. The range, custom-ordered from Italy has a vintage feel with its glossy white enamel skin and retro gold knobs. Upper cabinets are white with silvery knobs for a cool tone. Lower cabinets are a dove gray with pulls in a warmer tone. The end cabinet is actually an appliance garage to keep counter clutter to a minimum, which works because the work area is spacious but

Beck Center for the Arts is excited to stage the upcoming Dance Education Production, “Cinderella Ballet.” Choreographed by Associate Director of Dance Education Melanie Szucs, this piece includes 65 students in the cast, ages 7-18.

This hour-long ballet production is perfect for adults and children of all ages and is filled with colorful costumes and sets. A retelling of this classic fairytale in dance features students from Beck Center Dance Educa