TL;DR
Get home appliances delivered free — and shop member deals
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Access to Prime Big Deal Days deals on October 6–7
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
A Milwaukee kitchen that had been enlarged into a screened-in porch was reworked into a U-shaped kitchen with a peninsula, more storage and a discreet mudroom cabinet. Designer Dijana Savic-Jambert said the renovation kept the footprint largely unchanged while addressing circulation, cooking space and the homeowners’ need for an everyday entrance.
A Milwaukee kitchen renovation has replaced a patchwork layout with a U-shaped work area, peninsula and built-in storage, addressing cramped circulation and limited counter space without adding square footage. Designer Dijana Savic-Jambert, co-founder and studio principal of Maredi Design, told Apartment Therapy that the project drew on Julia Child’s pegboard system for pots and pans and the clients’ interest in cooking and French culture.
Before the renovation, the kitchen included space annexed from a screened-in porch, but the additions did not create a coherent room. Savic-Jambert described cabinets obstructing part of a sliding patio door, a freestanding makeshift island, a gas stove with burners that did not always work, limited upper-cabinet storage and lighting that made the room feel dark. The designer said the layout made it difficult to move through the kitchen or cook with more than one person.
The new U-shaped layout and peninsula organize the cooking area and provide additional work surface, storage and a place to gather. The design leaves some wall area free of upper cabinets, which Savic-Jambert said helps the room feel larger. A concealed coffee station was built into the peninsula for one homeowner, while customized shelving on the back wall frames a basement door and an existing radiator.
The kitchen also serves as the home’s main entrance and exit, despite having no separate mudroom. The designers added a pantry and mudroom cabinet near the exterior door to provide a reception area without expanding the room. According to Savic-Jambert, the team changed two openings: it replaced the sliding patio door with an exterior door and closed an interior passageway beside it. No other walls or openings were modified, she said.
A Better Work Zone Without an Addition
The renovation addresses a common constraint in older homes: a kitchen can feel cramped because of its layout and storage, even when its footprint is not changing. Here, the design team focused on circulation, usable counters and storage rather than adding square footage. That approach may be relevant to homeowners who cannot or do not want to undertake a larger expansion, though the report does not provide costs or establish how the design would work in other homes.
Making the kitchen function as both a cooking area and the household’s main entry also changes how the room supports daily life. The discreet cabinet gives the entrance a storage function, while the peninsula accommodates food preparation, coffee-making and gathering. The design links those uses without creating a separate mudroom or additional room.
The renovation also preserves selected features and character rather than treating the space as a blank slate. Knotty pine flooring replaced oak boards that had been refinished enough for their nails to show, according to the report. A green finish on the shelving takes inspiration from a nearby stained-glass window and tiled fireplace surround. These choices are described by the designer; the source does not include an independent evaluation of their durability or cost.
Julia Child pegboard for pots and pans
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
From Porch Addition to Unified Kitchen
The homeowners had previously annexed a screened-in porch to gain more kitchen space. The result, Savic-Jambert said, was visibly pieced together, with disrupted flow and a sliding door partly blocked by cabinetry. The clients’ stated needs included more practical storage, workable cooking stations and a space where several people could be present during everyday activities.
The designer said the project was conceived as a vintage-meets-modern kitchen informed in part by Julia Child’s use of pegboards to organize cookware. The report does not say that the new kitchen reproduces Child’s kitchen or that pegboards were installed; it presents Child’s organizing approach as inspiration for the renovation.
The project retained the existing overall footprint, according to Savic-Jambert, while reconfiguring the layout and addressing two openings. The source also reports that knotty pine was selected partly because it was a more reasonably priced wood species than white oak, but gives no project budget, material prices or comparative estimates.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Project Costs and Details Not Reported
The Apartment Therapy report does not state the renovation’s total cost, schedule or completion date. It also does not provide measurements, a detailed floor plan, or specifications for the cabinetry, appliances, coffee station or mudroom storage. Savic-Jambert characterizes knotty pine as a reasonably priced flooring choice, but no price comparison or project-wide savings figure is given.
The source describes the gas stove as having burners that did not always work before the renovation, but does not specify whether the appliance was repaired or replaced, or provide details about the new cooking equipment. It also does not include comments from the homeowners or an independent assessment of the finished kitchen.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
No Further Project Milestone Listed
The source presents the renovation as a completed project and does not identify a future construction phase, scheduled follow-up or additional announcement. Readers can compare the reported changes with the before-and-after photographs in Apartment Therapy’s original article, but the available material does not establish how the kitchen is performing over time or whether the homeowners plan further work.
discreet mudroom cabinet for entryway
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What changed in the Milwaukee kitchen?
Maredi Design replaced a patchwork arrangement with a U-shaped kitchen and peninsula, added storage and work surface, and created a concealed coffee station and pantry/mudroom cabinet, according to designer Dijana Savic-Jambert.
Was the kitchen enlarged?
No additional square footage was reported. Savic-Jambert said the team reworked the existing space and modified two openings: the exterior sliding door and an interior passageway beside it.
How did Julia Child inspire the renovation?
Savic-Jambert cited Child’s use of pegboards to organize pots and pans as part of the project’s inspiration. The report does not say the renovated kitchen copied Child’s kitchen or installed the same pegboard system.
How does the kitchen function as an entryway?
Because the kitchen is the home’s main entrance and exit, the designers added a pantry and mudroom cabinet near the exterior door. The source says this created mudroom-like storage without a separate mudroom or a larger footprint.
How much did the renovation cost?
The report does not provide the project’s total cost. It says knotty pine was chosen partly because it was more reasonably priced than white oak, but gives no material prices or overall savings estimate.
Source: rss
Fall Picks
fall essentials
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
