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Maredi Design reworked a Milwaukee kitchen that had poor circulation, limited storage and a patchwork layout after a porch was incorporated into the room. The renovation added a U-shaped work area with a peninsula, a discreet mudroom cabinet and display shelving, without expanding the kitchen’s footprint.
Maredi Design has reconfigured a Milwaukee kitchen with cramped work surfaces, blocked circulation and limited storage, using a U-shaped layout with a peninsula to create more functional cooking and gathering areas without adding square footage. Apartment Therapy reported the renovation, whose organizing concept drew on chef Julia Child’s pegboard kitchen storage.
Before the renovation, the kitchen combined the original room with part of a screened-in porch, leaving an awkward, patchwork appearance and an inconvenient route through the space. Designer Dijana Savic-Jambert, co-founder and studio principal of Maredi Design, said cabinets partly blocked the patio door, a makeshift island occupied the center, and some burners on the gas stove did not always work. The room also lacked upper cabinets and adequate lighting, according to the designer’s account to Apartment Therapy.
The new U-shaped kitchen and peninsula put work surfaces, storage and a place to gather around a central area. Savic-Jambert said the plan made it possible to leave some walls free of upper cabinets, helping the room feel more open. A coffee niche built into the peninsula gives one client a dedicated station concealed behind two doors. Custom shelving along the back wall frames the basement door and an existing radiator, providing display space for books and other objects.
The kitchen also serves as the household’s main entrance, despite having no existing mudroom. The design team incorporated a pantry and mudroom cabinet in a niche near the exterior door. The designers replaced the sliding patio door with an exterior door and closed an interior passageway next to it; Savic-Jambert said those were the only two openings changed. Knotty pine flooring replaced oak flooring that had been refinished until its nails began to show. The designer said pine was a more reasonably priced choice than white oak.
A Better Work Zone Without an Addition
The renovation shows how changing a kitchen’s layout and storage can address daily-use problems without enlarging the home. A peninsula can support both food preparation and casual gathering, while a built-in coffee station and concealed mudroom storage respond to how these particular clients use the room. The project’s value is practical as well as visual: the kitchen needed to handle cooking, entry and exit, and everyday organization in the same footprint.
That distinction matters to homeowners weighing a remodel against an addition. In this case, the designers addressed circulation and storage by reorganizing cabinetry and work surfaces, rather than expanding the building. The report does not provide project costs or quantify how much more counter or storage space the new plan created, so the renovation should be understood as a project-specific example, not a cost or performance benchmark.
U-shaped kitchen cabinet organizers
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How the Porch Created the Problem
According to Apartment Therapy, part of the kitchen had been enlarged earlier by annexing a screened-in porch. That extra area did not produce a cohesive room: the construction read as patchwork, and the layout left little space for multiple people to cook. Savic-Jambert said the clients wanted a place that could support cooking, shared meals and morning coffee, while retaining the character of the older home.
The renovation referenced Child’s well-known use of a pegboard system to organize pots and pans, but the reported design details focus on the room’s new layout, cabinetry, shelving and finishes. The team drew green paint inspiration from a nearby original stained-glass window and tiled fireplace surround. No detailed account of a new pegboard installation is provided in the source report.
Project Costs and Results Not Detailed
Apartment Therapy’s report does not state the renovation’s total cost, schedule or measured results, and it does not include the homeowners’ own comments. The designer described the flooring as comparatively affordable but gave no prices. The source also does not specify the new kitchen’s dimensions or provide a numerical comparison of storage and counter space before and after.
Although the project was inspired in part by Child’s kitchen organization, the available account does not establish that the renovated room includes the same kind of pegboard system. The confirmed details are the redesigned U-shaped layout, peninsula, integrated coffee niche, shelving, pantry/mudroom cabinet, door changes and knotty pine floor.
No Further Project Milestone Reported
The renovation is presented as complete, and Apartment Therapy’s report does not identify a pending construction phase or additional announcement. The source materials provide no planned follow-up from Maredi Design or the homeowners. Readers considering similar work would need project-specific measurements and quotes from qualified kitchen professionals to determine whether a comparable layout can fit their own home and budget.
Key Questions
What was changed in the Milwaukee kitchen?
Maredi Design created a U-shaped kitchen with a peninsula, added a concealed coffee niche, built custom display shelving and integrated pantry and mudroom storage. The team also replaced the sliding patio door with an exterior door and closed a nearby interior passageway.
Did the renovation make the kitchen larger?
No additional square footage was reported. The designers reorganized the kitchen within its existing footprint to improve circulation, work surfaces and storage.
How did Julia Child inspire the design?
Designer Dijana Savic-Jambert cited Child’s pegboard system for organizing pots and pans as inspiration for the project. Apartment Therapy’s account does not confirm that the renovated kitchen itself includes a pegboard installation.
Why does the kitchen also have mudroom storage?
The kitchen is the home’s main entrance and exit, and the house had no existing mudroom or reception area. The designers fitted a pantry/mudroom cabinet into a niche near the exterior door.
How much did the renovation cost?
The report does not give a total project cost. Savic-Jambert described knotty pine as more reasonably priced than white oak, but no flooring or overall renovation prices were provided.
Source: rss
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