Kitchen NV designs kitchen remodeling in Manchester, MI, a small city in southwest Washtenaw about 45 minutes (29 miles) from our Pinckney studio; it was a village until voters approved cityhood in November 2023. Manchester is home to about 2,077 residents (2020 Census) and sits on the River Raisin, with a preserved 1800s downtown and streets of older village homes.
That age is what defines a Manchester kitchen. Most in-village houses were built long before kitchens held a dishwasher or refrigerator, and a good remodel has to fit a modern room into an old house without making it feel like a different one.
Kitchen remodeling in Manchester, MI for 1800s village houses
Twenty-nine miles from Pinckney: how a Manchester project is paced
Manchester is a longer drive, so Nick sets each visit up to do a full job. The first is a consultation and measure at the house, including a look at the basement or crawlspace, since older foundations decide where plumbing can move. A design retainer then funds the planning, and the layouts, 3D renderings, elevations and pricing are presented in as few sittings as practical.
Selections happen in one dedicated session at your table, with Nick's time billed per hour or as one flat selections package. Kitchen NV orders the cabinetry when the purchase agreement is signed and arranges delivery into town. Trusted partner contractors build the kitchen, and Nick comes back at the install milestones.
The River Raisin, M-52 and the Western Washtenaw Construction Authority
The River Raisin runs through the center of town past the old mill pond, and M-52 links Manchester north to Chelsea. The city is part of the Western Washtenaw Construction Authority, the shared building department that also covers Manchester, Freedom and Bridgewater townships, so permits go through its office on City Road rather than the county. Confirm current requirements with the authority; our partner contractor handles the filing.
The town grew from the river. John Gilbert bought land on the River Raisin in 1826 and in 1833 had a dam, mill race, bridge and grist mill built, with the first plat drawn that year; Emanuel Case's hotel followed in 1834. Manchester and neighboring Soulesville joined as one village in 1867, and the mill ground grain until 1981. The older streets around the mill pond filled in through the decades that followed.
Interior kitchen work in an older house is a building-code matter. If the plan touches the outside of a house near downtown, say an enlarged sink window or a hood duct exiting toward the sidewalk, ask city staff whether any added review applies.
Kitchen NV
10094 Kress Rd, Pinckney, MI 48169
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Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–5 p.m. · Design consultations by appointment
Typical drive from our Pinckney base: ~45 min (29 mi).
Planning a kitchen in Manchester? Call (810) 923-8792
Call Kitchen NV in Pinckney, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Design consultations are by appointment.
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- CMKBD · CAPS · CLIPP designer
- Serving since 2020
Thick walls, steep stairs and back-room kitchens in River Raisin village homes
Manchester's older houses, many from the mid-to-late 1800s, put the kitchen in a back room or rear wing. Floors slope, walls are thick plaster over lath or brick, door and window openings are not where modern cabinets want them, and ceilings can step down where an addition joins. Plumbing and wiring have usually been updated in stages.
Measuring comes first, every wall and floor plane, and then a frank talk about which slopes are worth correcting and which the cabinets should simply follow. Then the plan turns on storage: tall cabinets on the one long wall, drawers in place of base doors, and open shelving where uppers would crowd an old window.
