Although Cathy and Bill Scott had restored parts of their lovely Victorian home, which is located in Cincinnati's Columbia-Tusculum Historical Area, the kitchen still looked like something out of a not-so Gilded Age. As the Scotts put it in their Cooking Light Kitchen Makeover Contest entry, "This kitchen looks a lot like it did in 1890, when the house was built."

They weren't kidding. The kitchen had cracked plaster, chipping paint, and a worn linoleum floor -- and that wasn't all. "Cleaning up with only a one-bowl sink and no dishwasher is not a pleasant experience," Bill said of another of the kitchen's problems -- one exacerbated by leaky 50-year-old faucets. But the biggest obstacle was the absence of storage space. The kitchen's only built-in cabinetry was a rusted-out metal hulk beneath the kitchen sink and an antique Hoosier cabinet that served as catchall storage space and work surface. "Everything was out in the open, so the kitchen was cluttered and always looked dirty no matter how hard we cleaned," Cathy says.

According to Senior Editor/Food Development Director Ellen Carroll, who oversees the contest each year, it was as model a candidate for a makeover as the Cooking Light team had ever seen. And so she and her team went to work. Certified kitchen designer Lee Woodall examined the Scotts' needs and compared them with the kitchen's available space. Working with the Scotts and contractor Dewey Greg Sumpter, she developed a plan that would meet the couple's desire for storage and work space without crowding the 14 by 15?foot room. Woodall particularly wanted to incorporate the patio, which runs the length of the house and overlooks an adjacent public park. To do that, she moved the sink to a different wall, adding a window with a transom to offer a view of the outdoors and let in more light.

Cooking Light Senior Photo Stylist Lydia DeGaris-Pursell worked with Woodall to select colors and textures that reflect the outdoor environment. For instance, the earth- toned broken-pattern countertops mirror the rustic stone patio, as does the backsplash. Blending the kitchen style with the rest of the historic house was also important, so Pursell paid particular attention to such details as flooring. The hardwood timbers she selected to replace the old, scuffed linoleum were stained to match the vintage floors throughout the house.

Although living without a kitchen for the six weeks it took to finish the project was tough, the Scotts were thrilled to watch their new room take shape. "When the countertops went in, that's what made it real for me," Cathy says. "It just looked like a set design before that. But once the countertops went down, I thought, 'This is mine, and I get to keep this and cook here.'"

The Cooking Light Kitchen Makeover Contest Team

Certified Kitchen Designer: Lee Woodall, 2526 Caladium Drive, Atlanta, GA 30345; 770-270-1946

Contractor: Dewey Greg Sumpter, 884 Old Orchard Road, Cincinnati, OH 45230; 513-479-8634

Interior decor: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell, Senior Photo Stylist, Cooking Light

Project director: Ellen T. Carroll, Senior Editor/Food Development Director, Cooking Light