photography by canary grey

An exercise in keeping the best of what is there, the Seward Scoop draws light deep into a well-loved existing home by adding a back porch and mudroom that decongests a small kitchen, and brings two cramped stairs up to code, all in 100 square-feet of new additional footprint.

The clients are wonderful cooks but their kitchen was the tightest room in the house. Our goal was to convert the kitchen layout into a long galley that bumped out into the backyard adding a breakfast nook, a mudroom, and a second-story window to capture southern light while retaining privacy from the neighbors.

The new addition ledgers off the existing home and balances on two concrete caissons. A low cedar engawa extends four feet into the yard beyond the living space greeting the clients when they come home through the alley and providing additional backyard seating. The unfinished cedar will wear with age, framed within a black corrugated metal shell.

The mudroom floor is finished with slate, transitioning to wood flooring at the kitchen and feathered in to match the existing wood floors throughout the rest of the home. The backsplash uses white subway tile, stacked vertically in a grid with a tan grout to bring in some richness, durability, and complement the wood cabinetry. The induction cooktop is set into a quartz countertop directly above an inset oven, mimicking a range condition but with a simpler, more elevated look. The hood shroud was custom fabricated by the owner. 

This project was designed for very good friends and knowing the joy and utility they get from their scoop has made our work immensely more gratifying.

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