PROJECT: The White Kitchen Annex

    Like many homes in Manila, there is a main kitchen for the many simple tasks, but there is also a dirty kitchen or annex kitchen which usually does all the heavy lifting. Being the partner to one of my previous works, the White Kitchen project , this kitchen follows a similar palette of whites and neutrals. 

    Built from an old shed, structural work was the first step before this kitchen could live up to its task. This involved a couple of changes to the lay-out of doors and windows for better flow, and new skylights to flood the kitchen with natural light during the day. Plenty of the old materials and finishes from the White Kitchen renovation were actually reused for the annex kitchen. This allowed us to save a lot of old-but-good materials as well use help us minimize the budget. 

     Almost everything, from the sliding door, aluminum windows, glass-paned cupboard doors to the marble counter tops and even the ceiling fan, were refurbished and reused. It was like a giant puzzle, finding old pieces that fit while taking great care in saving these items for reuse. This dilemma was especially true for the marble that has been used in the previous kitchen for decades, before being removed and relocated to the new annex kitchen. Despite being almost completely made of recycled materials, a fresh coat of white paint for the cupboard doors and a coating of wax over all the marble surfaces made everything look as good as new. Finally, with the installation of the appliances—including a vintage Caloric gas range—the annex kitchen is ready to use for years to come.