Nearly 100 years old, Elgin bungalow gets new kitchen
When Len Govednik bought his 1913 bungalow in Elgin in 1988, remodeling the kitchen was on his to-do list.
But the gut rehab of the kitchen, once only 10 square feet, wasn't complete until this year.
“I like to call it the 23rd year of my five-year project,” jokes Govednik, a senior manager of product management for T-Mobile in Downers Grove.
Govednik could be said to have an eye for a diamond in the rough. The house was in disrepair when he first moved in, as it had been abandoned for a few years.
“I watched a lot of episodes of ‘This Old House,'” Govednik said.
His two-bedroom, one-bath house is a Craftsman bungalow, with the clean lines of that era. Govednik liked the charm and character of the 1,100-square-foot house, with its woodwork and beamed ceilings. He rehabbed the exterior of the house and the dining room, but it took many years before he came up with a design he liked for the kitchen, which was still original to the house.
When it came time for the rehab, though, he wasn't shy about making big changes.
Govednik completely gutted the kitchen, knocking down a wall that once separated it from a back porch to create a bigger space. He took the ceiling out and converted half of the attic into a loft, which he plans to make into a butler's pantry. Then he slowly began converting the space into his dream kitchen.
“All in all, the work time was about eight months,” said Govednik, who learned to cook on a microwave and hot plate while renovations were under way. As Govednik is single, he didn't have to worry about disrupting others with the work in progress.
With a plan he designed himself, he changed the layout of the room. The stove was moved from the inside wall to the outside. Everything from plumbing, gas lines to electrical was completely redone. He did most of the work himself, although he did contract out some of the work.
“I hired someone to do the drywall, because it's hard to maneuver with the high ceilings,” he said. The tile work was also contracted out.
When all was done, Govednik's kitchen gleamed with new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, 42-inch maple cabinets and a heated marble floor.
Govednik worked with designer Margaret Pintschler to choose the colors and finishes for the room, which now glows with cheery yellow walls.
Other special touches helped make the kitchen unique.
“The mantel over the stove was a creation that my brother John, who lives in Georgia, and I concocted,” Govednik said. “I told him over the phone the general idea I had for it. He dabbles in architectural software for fun and eventually sent me a mock-up. Several phone calls and a few iterations later we came up with the final design.
“I made the shop drawings and gave them to a master craftsman Marc Musser, who built and installed it.”
Govednik was pleased with the final results, which disguise the large vent hood over the stove.
“I wanted to go with a fireplace look above the stove,” he said.
Govednik found a large tile that hangs behind the stove while browsing in East Dundee.
“I saw (the tile) at Haeger Pottery. It was designed to be displayed like a plate,” but Govednik had it mounted securely to the wall.
In addition to all the high-end finishes, Govednik's new 10-by-14-foot kitchen boasts a 32-inch flat screen TV (“I like to cook; I spend time in the kitchen watching cooking shows,” he says) and 11 lighting zones.
Govednik's main tip for would-be rehabbers of older homes?
“Be prepared for a lot of work, and don't take too much on yourself,” he cautions. Converting the attic to a loft was more work than he anticipated, because of all the issues bringing the space up to code.
As much work as it was, Govednik is thrilled with the end result.
“It's beyond my wildest dreams.”