This Old House

The Lake Forest Dream Kitchen - 1

For the first time ever, This Old House let viewers choose the project. A nationwide Dream Kitchen search culminated in an online vote, with the Smith family of Lake Forest, Illinois, garnering the most votes. The challenge: Find more space in an old, cramped kitchen so homeowners Mike and Heidi Smith and their 5-year-old triplets can cook and eat in comfort. Plans for the 1928 Tudor include installing new custom cabinets and appliances, relocating an ill-placed powder room, and turning an old greenhouse into a new eating area at the front of the house. To allow the family to live in the house during the renovation, Richard Trethewey helps sets up a temporary kitchen on the sun porch, while Norm and Steve discuss design options with project architect John Krasnodebski. To contain dust and debris during demolition, the kitchen is sealed off from the rest of the house.