Updating historical kitchens can be difficult. This Portland workshop reveals design secrets

The Portland Design Build Firm Arciform, which specializes in vintage and historical house improvements, is organizing a free kitchen design workshop in the Chown Hardware Showroom in the northwest of Portland on October 11th.

Bradley Horne, one of the high -ranking designers of Arciform, will have the discussion about how kitchens have developed, which makes older houses unique and how thoughtful design can improve both function and charm.

The participants will see examples of completed projects, learn practical tips and find out how the architectural history of a house is kept and at the same time improves its life capacity, say the organizers.

Representatives of Waterworks devices and chown hardware also present ideas.

The participants who actively plan a kitchen conversion or are simply curious about that can search the kitchen and the Hardware Bath exhibition room while enjoying coffee and pastries. Registration for the free event is required at arciform.com/events.

Arciform has been carrying out renovation and maintenance work on historical houses, sights and trade buildings in the entire Pacific northbea for since 1997.

The company's approach is to combine traditional new craftsmanship and modern engineering in order to maintain architectural integrity. They restore existing doors, windows and complicated mill work and newly produce historical layouts to meet modern lifestyle.

The nationwide conservation organization Restoure Oregon has awarded Arciform for the rescue of the architectural and cultural heritage of buildings such as the Harlow Hotel from 1882 in Pearl District in Portland for future generations.

Here are guidelines used to compensate for the character and individuality of an old kitchen with modern convenience:

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Preserve original materials Whenever possible, but not the feeling that you have to be too precious. Chips, dents and scratches can be hugged as part of the story, which are told by tiles, molded parts, brackets, windows or lighting.

Older cupboards or sections of older cupboards that can be flatter or lower as a bar or coffee station or specific preparation area.

Use older cupboards to design new cupboards. Model the shares of styles and rails, corbels, beadboard -backplash or other defining properties.

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Choose a timeless design. Are you not afraid to use materials that are currently not “trendy”. All materials, surfaces and styles come and go and will look out of date at some point. So you are happy to draw from the past and advise ArciForm Desgner.

When choosing materials, molded parts and hardware, look beyond the kitchen into other rooms in the house to be inspired, especially if the kitchen has been converted beforehand and lost its original functions.

Dining room-ins, living room book shelves and even bathroom cabinets can deliver design details to the kitchen.

When floor coverings, tiles, colors and lighting are related to adjacent rooms, the kitchen feels better and seems to be bigger.

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Define the area: In older houses, the kitchens were distinguished from other rooms. If you open walls for the adjacent eating or living rooms, you should build up in a kind of visual separation such as a covered opening or an arch, a bag or a French doors to keep this traditional feeling.

Add storage space: Storage chambers are one of the top opportunities to increase the memory and to lean other areas of the kitchen in vintage. By providing a room in which many objects are visible at a glance, but are kept out of sight, it promotes the need for upper cupboards that can feel a room smaller.

Consider converting a neighboring closet or creating a floor to the ceiling with pull -out shelves.

When you go: The free kitchen design workshop begins on Saturday, October 11th, at 10 a.m. in the Chown Hardware Showroom, 333 NW 16th Ave. in the Northwest District in Portland (503-243-6500; portland@chown.com).