PHOTOS BY STUDIO LITHE

Pittsburgh’s historical homes are brimming with charm and detail — but they sometimes lack the features that work for today’s families. For one Shadyside couple, the choppy layout of their 1920s-era, Tudor-style home meant that whoever was cooking was cut off from the fun.

“Everyone would be in the den laughing and giggling, and I’d be prepping in the kitchen,” says the wife, who requested anonymity along with her husband. “The flow and function were not working. I felt left out.”

The couple began to envision what it would be like to move their kitchen from the rear of the house to a paneled addition (and former cigar room) they rarely used.

“There was just not a lot of room to expand or build out due to the driveway,” adds her husband. “There weren’t really many options besides moving the kitchen.”

Eva Knezovich, design director of Pittsburgh-based Shelton Design/Build, which helmed the project, called the addition an underutilized but beautiful space. By centering the new kitchen between two family zones, mom was brought back into the fray.

“It had a great connection to the small backyard and to their main living space,” Knezovich says.

While the Shelton team hoped to preserve the addition’s paneling, it proved difficult to remove intact. “We decided that we were going to keep the concept and build paneling in the same style,” says Knezovich. “It looks like it has always been there.”

Although homes of this age typically have darker cabinetry, the design team chose a paintd finish for the perimeter cabinets to brighten up the space, which does not get much natural light. Tying it all together is a kitchen island and an integrated banquette that match the darker paneling.

“Adding in that paneling as the backdrop to the cabinets achieved exactly what we wanted to accomplish,” Knezovich says.

The couple, who enjoy cooking, chose high-end appliances from Wolf and Subzero for their kitchen. They also incorporated small details for both joy and functionality, such as a striking pink magnolia ceiling sculpture by glass artist Elizabeth Lyons that reminds them of the years they lived in Rochester, New York, where Lyons is based. The banquette seating provides a cozy spot from which the family can watch morning cartoons on a pop-up television or tuck into for a big breakfast.

Shelton Design/Build also completed a mudroom with laundry facilities and a powder room in the footprint of the old kitchen; both work perfectly for a family with young children. Brick flooring and custom wallpaper help those utilitarian spaces feel elegant while still flowing with the rest of the home.

For the Best of Design judges, the seamless melding of history and function made this home a clear choice to win Best Kitchen in 2024.

“I think that most people who renovate their homes or their kitchens renovate so that it looks new, and then it no longer looks like an old home,” says judge Crystal DeCastro Knapik, a senior project designer at Vocon. “What I like about this renovation is that you’re not hiding the fact that it’s an old home. They are allowing those elements of the old house to still resound in the space while making it new.”

Best of Design judge Stephen Schill of Schill Architecture, LLC in Cleveland noted the ogee countertop edge profile caught his eye; it was among many nods to the age of the home incorporated by Shelton Design/Build.

”It’s an edge that’s appropriate for this vintage of home,” Schill says. “I like how they brought together the old with the new.”

Read more Best of Design Winners.

VENDORS

Architectural Design: Franklin Krouse (Shelton Design Associates)

Interior Design: Eva Knezovich & Kendall Soler (Shelton Design Associates)

General Contractor: Shelton Design/Build

Mechanical and HVAC: JA Sauer

Electric: CW Electrical Services

Plumbing: Pro Plumbing + Heating

Cabinetry: Greenville Wood Products

Hardware: Rejuvenation

Appliances: Voss TV & Appliance

Fixtures: Brizo

Lighting: Rejuvenation (Floral ceiling sculpture by Elizabeth Lyons, More Fire Glass Studio)

Flooring: Allegheny Mountain Hardwood Flooring

Countertops: Cambria Quartz/Top Advantage Surfaces

Windows and Doors: Marvin Windows & Doors

Tile: Artistic Tile