For years we were wanting to remodel/renovate the long narrow galley kitchen in our 81-year-old tudor-esque home in Long Beach, Calif. Because the home is located in the California Heights historic district, the changes had to reflect the history of the house which has been preserved through the years through what can only be called benign neglect.
Through the historic district's annual home tour fundraiser we were able to see the work of Lou Gaudio and Omnicraft Enterprises. It was apparent that he took a keen interest in preserving the flavor and historic nature of the homes in the neighborhood, while providing for modern conveniences. When we finally pulled the trigger on the renovation, Lou is the guy we called. The project proceeded in three phases: consultation, execution, completion.
Consultation: Lou was incredibly resourceful and helpful during this phase. He visited with us. He listened. He looked at the pictures of what we liked from various magazines we'd been saving. He paid careful attention to what we thought the kitchen should be from living in the home for 12 years. Through this consultative approach, he offered his own suggestions based on our ideas and what best fit the character of the home.
We decided that instead of doing a simple tile job and new cabinet doors, we would gut the kitchen, install new cabinets that would offer more usable space and give us more counter space, tile two whole walls with subway tile and install a soapstone counter. We also opted to add a set of dishwasher drawers. Lou is also a cabinet maker and he helped us decide on Shaker-style doors and drawer fronts (including on the dishwasher) as well as materials for drawer glides, hinges, etc.
At each step of the process, we asked for and received his input on just about every detail — from lighting to grout color to which tile we would use. Given our budget, he also helped us shave off some of the cost by going with different materials and types of construction. After mostly nailing down the scope of the project we moved into demolition.
Execution: Lou and his employee Marvin (sorry, I forget his last name) completed all the demo work and were exceedingly clean and organized. Once the room was gutted, Lou proceeded with his subs for some of the work. His drywall guys were in an complete, then came the cabinets, then counter top, then the tile guys (Thanks Gurzi Bros Tile!), doors, drawers, and paint.
Again, Lou's extensive knowledge of various historic home styles was helpful in making decisions on the little details. We waffled back and forth on what kind of hinge, narrowing it down to two different style butterfly hinges. Lou and I stood there in the kitchen one day comparing the two, matching the various elements in the ornate hinges to the lines and style of the cabinets, etc. It was a small detail it seemed, but once the cabinet doors were installed, it was obvious we went in the right direction.
Completion: All of Lou's subs were extremely skilled and conscientious, but his painters really took the cake. The prep work was exacting and methodical and the finish painting was just beautiful. These guys, Action Paint and Services of Whittier, Calif., were fantastic.
Toward the end of the project, we decided to add some work to the scope. At some point in the home's history, two wood sash double hung windows were replaced with glass louvered windows. We made the move back to wood windows and Lou was able to get a window guy in to give us an estimate and then move forward with making and installing the windows, all without adding too much extra time to the project.
Now all but finished (just a couple small, extra bits left), the kitchen is exactly as I'd envisioned it while cooking in there for 12 years. It's the kitchen we'd seen in the various magazine clippings we'd saved. It's the one that now gives me a huge amount of counter space, cabinets that are usable (the originals had long outlasted their usefulness) and a dishwasher that makes the manual dishwasher in our house very happy.
I'd happily recommend Lou and his services to anybody looking to make a period-correct, carefully detailed upgrade to their home.
