After: The scope of the remodel included taking the room down to the studs, opening it up to the dining room and adding a wood-burning fireplace and expansive new windows that look onto the backyard. The goal was to create Victorian-era style while updating the space, giving the kitchen the appearance that it had gently evolved over time.

“I like to avoid an L-shaped kitchen when I can, because it means I can mix the finishes on both walls and on an island,” Zaveloff says. The upper cabinets are white, the lower cabinets are black and the island is walnut.

Along with the mix of cabinet finishes, an encaustic cement tile floor, walls covered in elongated subway tiles, painted brick, simple pendant lights and traditional hardware give the room a vintage look. “I wanted to use natural, humble materials,” Zaveloff says. “The terra-cotta wall tiles have a very uneven, handmade feel, and the Carrara marble counters have a bakery feel.”

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