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Putter Kitchen
Sue & Jerome Putter
About
When Sue and Jerome Putter bought their Walmer home 33 years ago, they vowed to update an area of this farmhouse, one of those was the outdated, dark kitchen on the South West corner of the house. Their new country style kitchen both acknowledges the property’s history as one of the original farmhouses in this part of Port Elizabeth and brings it up to date with beautiful light and views of their magnificent garden.
PROJECT TYPE:
Alteration to existing dwelling
CLIENT
Sue and Jerome Putter
LOCATION
Walmer, Port Elizabeth
"Every morning when I walk into my new kitchen and put on the light, I appreciate what a beautiful space Donne has created in our home.
Donne has a special talent for turning small awkward areas into beautiful practical spaces. Our new kitchen is a testament to her talent and expertise – a happy hive of activity for cooking and enjoying delicious meals with family and friends."
SUE & JEROME
The existing kitchen was, for the most part, was logically arranged with defined scullery, pantry and food prep areas. It also boasted the original hearth with copper plate which the clients loved. They also loved their antique cottage style table and chairs that had graced the centre of the space for years serving as the venue for many a happy informal family meal. The new kitchen design looked to build on the original layout and honour the aspects of the space that held memory and bring joy to the clients. To start, a badly degraded single sash window was removed and replaced with two custom sliding sash windows of the same size and style as the original. These were installed side by side radically improving the daylight in the space and offering incredible views of the expansive, park-like garden to the west. The layout of the eat in, food prep area was tweaked by repositioning major appliances to make better use of available space and improve its functionality.
A palette of off whites and light greys gives the kitchen a classic but modern feel whilst lightening the space significantly and highlighting special features like the original antique table and chairs with new rattan central pendant light and carefully selected roman blinds. Lighting was carefully designed for various situations from early morning coffee making, to intimate family meals to preparation of meals for big gatherings. A large, narrow cabinet reminiscent of the old style South African “koskas” provides ample storage for groceries and serving dishes.
This project was beautifully executed with great attention to details by a team of local craftsmen and women, installers and tradesmen under the management of Dave Collins Construction.
The existing kitchen was, for the most part, was logically arranged with defined scullery, pantry and food prep areas. It also boasted the original hearth with copper plate which the clients loved. They also loved their antique cottage style table and chairs that had graced the centre of the space for years serving as the venue for many a happy informal family meal. The new kitchen design looked to build on the original layout and honour the aspects of the space that held memory and bring joy to the clients. To start, a badly degraded single sash window was removed and replaced with two custom sliding sash windows of the same size and style as the original. These were installed side by side radically improving the daylight in the space and offering incredible views of the expansive, park-like garden to the west. The layout of the eat in, food prep area was tweaked by repositioning major appliances to make better use of available space and improve its functionality.
A palette of off whites and light greys gives the kitchen a classic but modern feel whilst lightening the space significantly and highlighting special features like the original antique table and chairs with new rattan central pendant light and carefully selected roman blinds. Lighting was carefully designed for various situations from early morning coffee making, to intimate family meals to preparation of meals for big gatherings. A large, narrow cabinet reminiscent of the old style South African “koskas” provides ample storage for groceries and serving dishes.
This project was beautifully executed with great attention to details by a team of local craftsmen and women, installers and tradesmen under the management of Dave Collins Construction.
“Every morning when I walk into my new kitchen and put on the light, I appreciate what a beautiful space Donne has created in our home.
Donne has a special talent for turning small awkward areas into beautiful practical spaces. Our new kitchen is a testament to her talent and expertise – a happy hive of activity for cooking and enjoying delicious meals with family and friends.”