When Cherry and Paul Saenger bought their 1920s Biltmore Forest home in 2001, there had been some updates through the decades, but the kitchen was ripe for a major overhaul. They hired Jim Samsel of Samsel Architects to “craft the kitchen for modern life,” as he puts it.
With a wooded lot, the golf course and a mountain view just beyond, “opening up the kitchen to the outdoors” was an obvious way to take advantage of the light and great scenery. Samsel removed the old kitchen, laundry room and a small abandoned outbuilding that was blocking the view, allowing him to also work within the footprint it had previously occupied.
Making the addition look “stylistically harmonious” from the outside was important, but Samsel didn’t hesitate to include additions such French doors, a sitting area “bump-out” and a curved wall of windows leading out to the terrace, which although not exactly period were in tune with the feel of the house.
Inside the house was a different matter. Samsel made discrete entries to the new part of the house from the existing structure, using the former butler’s panty as a transitional zone. But he and interior designer Susan Nilsson, ASID agreed that it didn’t make sense to treat this new addition as if it were part of the old house. “I didn’t want to do the traditional white kitchen,” says Nilsson. “I wanted to honor the newness of the addition.”
Nilsson went for what she calls “the grand stroke of color” with blue tiles in the cooking area and contemporary lighting fixtures and furniture, such as the Knoll bar stools, to achieve the modern look she was going for. Custom cabinets and built-ins by SieMatic, installed by Creative Woodcrafters, added sleek functionality. The result, says Nilsson, is an addition that “fuses classic and contemporary.”