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Don’t crowd the cook 

Kitchen renovation carefully planned for maneuvering inside historic home 

  • Housetrends
The kitchen opens up to the hearth room, then a patio room, and then outside to the pond beyond. “The party goes right outside,” Kim says

“Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above. Don’t fence me in.” 

–lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter 

While there is plenty of room for them, there are no bar stools anywhere near the handsome 9 by 4-foot island in Kim Borcherding’s newly remodeled kitchen.  And there’s a definite reason for that. Kim likes to cook and entertain crowds on a seriously regular basis and she would prefer her guests not cluster near the island and fence her in while she is cooking. 

“I like to disperse the crowd so I can really function,” she says. 

The fact that Kim and her husband, Douglas Gaker, like their space, is evident as soon as you drive up to their 1,800-foot long driveway to their nearly 200-year-old farmhouse. Sitting on 200 acres, their home affords plenty of breathing room. Scattered nearby are a pond, tennis court, two barns, an oversized garage, a guest home, and plenty of gardens. 

The pond is a magnet for family and friends when the couple entertains.

Yours, mine and ours
When the couple married six years ago, Douglas who is a urologist for the Kettering Health Network, already owned the home. Kim was owner of Borcherding Buick GMC and the two shared a love of vintage cars—and seven mostly grown children between them. The newlyweds quickly got busy blending their families. 

As with most families, much of the bonding was taking place in the heart of the home. While the original kitchen was large and had high-quality walnut cabinetry, the renovation was 30 years old, the space was dark and the arrangement wasn’t very work-friendly for Kim. She used the space as command central for six years, until it slowly became apparent the room was due for an upgrade.   

A pot-filler faucet is positioned near the range, but also above a second sink, making it handy on multiple levels.

“The appliances began going out one by one,” Kim says. “We decided it was time.” 

Once the decision to remodel was made, the couple did not hesitate to call Carrie and John Bordenkircher, owners of Kircher Design and Build. The two had previously renovated the home’s upstairs bath, and Kim and Douglas knew they were the right team for this job. 

During the initial planning stage, Kim was focused on creating a farmhouse kitchen. As John and Carrie introduced farmhouse-style elements Kim began to realize that wasn’t what she really wanted. “I am more of a dressy person and I needed to stay authentic to myself,” she says. 

The existing design was an ornate, Tuscan style which didn’t go with the Federal style of the home. The challenge, Carrie says, was taking an already handsome space and transforming it into something that would give the homeowners that “wow” factor.  

The stately island was custom designed for the space and hand built with walnut and maple woods.

Bells and whistles
Another challenge: the sheer number of appliances Kim wanted in her new kitchen—including a LaCornue range, two Miele wall ovens—one steam and one combination, a standalone freezer and refrigerator, a dishwasher, two beverage drawers, an ice maker, a flash freezer, and a dehydrator. 

“There is no toy I didn’t get,” Kim says with a smile. “These appliances can make you a master chef even if you aren’t one.” 

While the Kircher team kept the footprint of the main kitchen the same, they were able to gather a good deal of additional space by relocating an adjacent laundry room to the upstairs owners’ suite. This new butler’s pantry serves as a food prep area with plenty of counter and cabinet space. 

Kim arranges flowers grown on the property. Dahlia garden. Douglas is a member of the Dahlia Society of Ohio.

Island of dreams 
When it came time to design the focal point of the kitchen, Kim found a photo online of an island she liked.  

“I gave it to them to show the look and feel I was after, Kim says. “Boy did they take it and run!” 

“That island is an artistic piece,” Carrie says. “The photo Kim gave us only showed a partial end view. It took John a lot of time to create.” 

Once his design was complete, John turned plans over to the craftsmen at Peters Cabinetry who custom built it based his drawing. The final product resembles a heirloom-quality piece of furniture that introduces form as well as a good deal of function to the kitchen. 

“Have I shown you these drawers?” Kim says. “The storage in this is unbelievable. Remarkable.” 

Chef’s choice
Just a step away from the island, the 48-inch La Cornue range holds court, with a hammered copper range hood mounted above it between a set of windows. The dual fuel ovens are two of the four ovens found throughout the space. 

“With such a large family, at any given time I’ve got four ovens and the cooktop going,” says Kim, who admits her favorite appliance just may be her Miele steam oven.  

Chairs from the informal dining area, double as extra seating when pulled into the hearth room and paired up with matching ottomans.

“The way the heat cooks the food–superior results,” she says. “Doug stocked the lake with trout. He went fishing a few weeks ago, caught one, cleaned it and stuck it in the steam oven. We had fresh trout for dinner that night.” 

The dining room table is set with pieces from the couple’s extensive collection of German Meissen Blue Onion china which was passed on to them from Douglas’ mother.

Hello Freddy
Another appliance that gets a lot of accolades is the blast chiller, nicknamed “Freddy” by its manufacturer.  

“We have a garden,” Kim says. “The idea is to bring fresh foods in, do the prep, flash freeze them, and store them in our main freezer. When we are ready to use them, they are just as fresh as the day we bought them.” 

A beverage station includes two refrigerated drawers, which a friend convinced Kim to include. She was skeptical at first, but loves having them now.

Room to roam
Just as in the space around her island, Kim doesn’t want any bottlenecks in the traffic flow while entertaining. The kitchen flows easily through a wide-open archway in to a family room and on to a four-season patio room—all with a calming view of the pond.      

That archway had to be rebuilt by the Kircher team. “Old houses are tough,” Carrie says. “Things are out of square.” They also had to shore up and replace the kitchen and hearth room floors being careful not to damage their radiant heat system. 

The renovation also necessitated a rewiring of the entire space. The team at Hanson Audio Video took on that task and installed a state–of–the–art security system along with the latest and greatest television and sound components. 

Formerly a laundry room, this butler’s pantry works well for party prep and includes a blast chiller and dehydrator, (on the right) and plenty of cabinetry to house serving pieces.

The hearth room got a bit of a facelift as well, with a new Obsidian tile surround on the fireplace, which picks up the backsplash tile in the kitchen. The mantel is hand made by John from a piece of walnut wood that came from a farm in Lebanon. Walls are painted a rich navy blue suggested by the Kircher team. Kim was hesitant to go forward with the strong color at first, but now admits, “I’ve become a blue nut!” 

 

The hearth room got a bit of a facelift as well, with new cabinetry, a tile surround, and a Samsung Frame TV posing as artwork.

Respectful update

Despite all of this updating to 21st century amenities, Kim and Douglas are incredibly respectful of the home’s history. A framed newspaper clipping in their front parlor tells the history of the home and a bit about its original owner, Samuel Jeffrey. Plus, Douglas has written a piece titled “Beauty” about the property and what it means to be part of its history. The first line begins “The beauty is not in the bricks. It is in the story that only they could know.”

The front façade shows the addition of two front porches that were added to the home’s original structure.
A framed print of the home honors the original owner, Samuel Jeffrey.

 The takeaway from all of their efforts, Kim says, “Is the privilege it is to be a part of the history and legacy of this place.” After all, she says, “Kitchens will come and go but the stories that are created in the kitchen will last a lifetime.”  

Resources: 

Design and construction: Kircher Design & Build, Lead Carpenter Mike Maddox, CLC 

Cabinetry: Peters Custom Cabinetry  

Countertops: LG Viatera and Caesarstone, fabricated by KBR Manufacturing 

Lighting: Kichler from Lyons Lighting 

Appliances: Miele ovens, refrigerator and freezer, LaCornue range, Hoshizaki ice maker, Trinox blast chiller and dehydrator 

Sink: The Galley 

Cabinet pulls: Hardware Resources  

Backsplash and fireplace tile, Hamilton Parker 

Hearth room chairs, rug, dining table: Hoffman & Albers Interiors

Walls: Sherwin Williams Indigo Batik and Keystone 

Landscaping: Jerry Majors
Windows: Marvin Windows and Doors 

Photos by Daniel Feldkamp 

 

Article by Karen Bradner



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