Dan and Sharon Dykstra have an avid interest in restoring historical structures in Sioux City and were inspired to remodel their kitchen in a style that reflected the character of their home in The Heights neighborhood.
Dan, an attorney with the Heidman Law Firm in Sioux City, was chairman of the firm's building committee to renovate the architecturally important 1890 Evans Block building on Historic Fourth Street. The goal was to make sure the multistory structure featuring Richardson Romanesque architecture was restored with authenticity and that it was functional enough to meet the law firm's needs.
More recently, Dan requested a local historic preservation ordinance from the City Council on behalf of The Heights Neighborhood Association. The ordinance, which was adopted by the city, will allow property owners like the Dykstras and the city's Historic Preservation Committee to ask the City Council to designate areas as historic districts. In light of street construction that has been proposed for Solway and nearby streets over the next two years, and the age of the neighborhood, The Heights Association wanted their neighborhood to be recognized by the city as a historic area.
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"There are a lot of great old homes in our neighborhood. The Heights was originally created in 1913. The area was platted at that time. Most of the homes were built in the 1920s and '30s. Ours was built in 1944 as World War II started.
"The city council needed to create historic districts so we can apply. Our neighborhood is in the process of putting together the materials to apply for a historic neighborhood designation. The city approved changes to the infrastructure many years ago, and since they have gotten around to changing the infrastructure, it has re-energized the neighborhood," Dan said. "We want to maintain the quaint residential traffic and keep the islands located in the street. All will have great flowers. And we anticipate historical street lights. It has made us all look at our own homes and do our own planning."
Since moving into their home in 1989, the Dykstras have replaced the wood shingles on their roof and taken care of structural items, but they didn't get around to remodeling their kitchen until recently.
"The last time, the kitchen was redone by a previous owner in the mid-'70s. We thought about redoing it but we never gained the courage to do it. We wanted it to fit the character of our historic home, which has a French Country look with the front brick and wood shingles," he said.
To help them remodel their kitchen, they called on Four Corners Construction, which has completed many new homes and remodels in the Siouxland area and the Lakes, and has always pleased customers with the quality of their work and attention to detail. They also enlisted the design help of Lisa Lines and Jamie Miller at Creative Cabinetry in South Sioux City.
They went with Terry Schultzen of Four Corners Construction because "they do a very fine job as far as construction and the quality of material and design," Dan said.
"For the kitchen cabinetry, we talked to several suppliers of cabinetry, but Creative Cabinetry had a vision for the design that was exceptional," he said.
The old kitchen was stripped down to the bare walls and rebuilt in the same space instead of removing walls and raising the ceiling.
"Sharon was very insistent on that," he said. "She wanted to maintain the character of the old European style house."
Sharon, a homemaker, said they just added a cupboard and corner pieces. Otherwise, the layout is basically the same.
To complement the home's age and style, the Dykstras replaced their old cabinetry with floor to ceiling Wood-Mode cabinetry in maple with a Vintage Lace finish, both framed and frameless, from Creative Cabinetry.
They selected a Kensington raised door style and an Essex recessed door style, and complemented the cabinetry with Schaub hardware in light antique nickel.
The Sonoma Reserve backsplash tile in an amber color and sizes ranging rom 1 1/2 inches by 8 inches and 1-inch by 8 inches was provided by Creative Cabinetry from Sonoma Tile Works. For the background tile, the Dykstras wanted tumbled travertine by Interceramic in a Durango color.
A highlight of the kitchen is the appliance garage extending across the whole wall cabinet, which was made to look like a freestanding furniture piece and have the appearance of a china hutch.
They wanted a warm, wainscot cottage look, so we used a combination of full overlay and insert doors to accent different areas. It has an "Old World" look.
"A lot of our cabinetry looks like furniture," said Dan. "It looks like we moved a piece of furniture into the room."
Sharon said the hutch was intended to hide the telephone and coffee area below, and be used as a display area on top. Other cabinetry hides the cleaning supplies, the garbage can, and the dishwasher.
Architectural elements include pieces from Art for Everyday out of Canada over the hood, and Enkebol corbels over spice pullouts on either side of the oven, and above the window valance and refrigerator.
The Dykstras wanted more storage in their kitchen, so they turned an old closet around the corner into a very efficient pantry with handy pullout shelving and drawers, and added new lighting.
To buy appliances for their new kitchen, the homeowners went to the locally owned and operated Kollman Appliance store in Sioux City. They selected a GE Profile stainless French door refrigerator with external dispenser, a GE Profile 36-inch built-in CleanDesign cooktop, a GE Profile 30-inch built-in single convection wall oven, a GE Profile Advantium wall oven, and a GE Profile dishwasher with SmartDispense technology.
"The staff at Kollman Appliance was very helpful," Dan said. "We love to cook, but we don't claim to be professionals. They helped us pick out appliances that would meet our needs.
"In our prior kitchen, we had a fairly small oven, but now with a convection wall oven and an Advantium wall oven, we can have a turkey and cook something else at the same time. It was a huge disadvantage before."
Sharon said the other kitchen was never designed well for cooking efficiently or for a crowd.
"We had a small oven that wouldn't hold a large cookie sheet. I love that we can now cook two things at once. I can't wait to do Thanksgiving. I can cook two things at two temperatures."
The kitchen flooring came from Haberl Tile and Stone in Moville, Iowa. It is set in a mixed pattern of 8-inch by 8-inch, 8-inch by 16-inch and 16-inch by 16-inch neutral travertine stone tiles in a honed finish with chiseled edge; the color is Torreon.
"We wanted permanent materials that give an Old World look. By using the Travertine, the Old World look is almost castlelike," Dan said.
The kitchen countertops, also from Haberl Tile and Stone, are natural granite. All of the slabs were hand selected by the Dykstras, who chose a 3 cm granite from Brazil called "Olympo." This granite has a very distinct and dramatic appearance when used for countertops.
The Dykstras completed their new granite countertops with an ogee edge.
The kitchen walls were painted a warm Pumpkin Spice color to bring out the colors of the granite.
Because the kitchen is located over the garage and has always been drafty, the Dykstras wanted warmth underfoot. They had radiant heat coils installed under the new Travertine tile floor and added extra insulation in the garage.
"That was one of the smarter things we did," Dan said. "We could walk on 73 degree floors in February."
"The in-floor heat is wonderful," Sharon added.
Dutch-style lace valances from Judy's Sewing Room in Sioux Center added the finishing touches to the kitchen. The lace valances are imported lace from Heritage Lace Company in Pella. Store owner Judy Den Hartog makes window drapes, valances and cornice boards, and sells Hunter Douglas widnow treatments.
Started right before Thanksgiving and completed in January, the kitchen has been a major project for the Dykstras. Since it has been finished, the family has enjoyed spending time in the room and cooking with their new appliances.
"The kitchen of any home is the hub, and we're using it a lot," Sharon said. "It's usable, functional and a place you like to be."
"We haven't done a dinner party yet, but we are planning a graduation for our graduating senior. That will be our inaugural break-in," Dan added.
