Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ret_talbot

Design Elements for Partial Kitchen Remodel - Metals

3Bird
4 months ago

We are doing a 1/4 kitchen renovation--just one wall at this point--and we're looking for some advice on design elements to tie the whole thing together. Here is the wall that is being renovated:


Our design concept is (very loosely) Victorian farmhouse. We are replacing the range with a La Cornue Cornufe 110, which will go in the same place as the range in the picture. This is an older house (c. 1870), and that is a chimney in the middle of the wall for the old cookstove. To the left is a chase for plumbing to an upstairs bathroom and then a built-in woodbox. We are removing the woodbox and adding shelving cabinetry with a counter that will contour around the chimney and abut the range. The wall behind the range will be tiled and include a tile mural in the middle. We will also add a ductless vent/hood.


My biggest design question at the moment is about metal. Our new range is royal blue with polished brass.

There is some exposed copper piping in the room, and the sink fixtures are chrome. There is large built in on the opposite wall that has brass hardware:



The dishwasher and wine fridge are behind the doors in the built-in pictured above, and the fridge is in the pantry, so we don't have to worry about matching those.


QUESTIONS: For the new cabinetry (three doors and three drawers), what's your thinking on pulls? The cabinets are painted white to keep the room a little brighter, as it is not a huge space. Do we echo the polished brass of the range or go for something more subtle? If the latter, what? For the sink, do we swap out the chrome faucets with polished brass or copper to avoid too many metals in one room? We are also planning on adding some lighting that mounts to the chimney and brightens up the counter space. Not this one, but maybe something similar that can again help to tie the space together?



We also need to do something with the sink plumbing...


Any thoughts or ideas you have (including pictures from your own projects) would be very helpful. Thanks in advance.

Comments (59)

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    Good perspective, @Kendrah. Thanks. I guess I shouldn't restrict myself to the brass/copper only lane quite yet. I hear you when you say: "I'd tone it down a bit by keeping the faucets chrome and using chrome hardware." Looking at pictures, I'm seeing how chrome can work with similar range and white cabinetry. One example below:


    (Photo from: https://cdn.decorpad.com/photos/2018/01/16/white-kitchen-cabinets-with-blue-stove.jpg)


    On the sink plumbing chase, I agree! On the ceiling, it's kind of a nightmare. I'm into the ceiling in the adjacent room right now, and it's horsehair/lathe/plaster. We will hold off on the light until we get more of the space finalized, I think.


    Interesting on the ductless vent comment. La Cornue says their 600 cfm ductless vent matches fine with this range. We're actually looking at a 44" 900 CFM ductless lent for the space, and again La Cornue gave us the thumbs up. But you think not? We will not be doing much high heat cooking on this range, as all our high heat cooking (e.g., wok, steaks, etc.) happens on the Egg on the deck off the kitchen. But still... There really is no other place for the range in the kitchen. Hmmmm....

  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    "La Cornue says their 600 cfm ductless vent matches fine with this range."


    As far as I know, there is no requirement in the US to even have a hood with a range, and certainly no standard for what to do with a ventless hood since they don't achieve any meaningful removal of fine particulate matter. So what La Cornue says as far as a match is really just aligning to marketing verbiage but no standard that correlates to health.


    It is really up to you as to how much you care about the health impacts on your health. The kitchen industrial complex wooed us with professional ranges that professionals use with vented hoods. But now we all want beautiful ranges and the vent is kind of an after thought, and often a challenge with the structures of our residential spaces. One designer on here is always talking about how her clients hardly ever use hoods even after they install them.


    Ductless vents do little to filter fine particulate matter. They more so help a tiny bit with odor, a tiny bit with grease, and blow smoke and steam up higher onto your kitchen walls instead of into your face.


    So it comes down to what you are comfortable with for your own health. The carbon dioxide levels kicked off inside a home with a gas range are much higher than what is regulated for outside air emissions. I care about that. Some people don't. Maybe your air is already so polluted it doesn't matter. Maybe you have a smoker in the house so what is a little more indoor air pollution. Maybe you have fantastic air quality where you live so what is a little indoor air pollution? Only you can judge.

    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    Looking again at your kitchen, keeping all the same metals actually seems off to me, like a forced through line that doesn't achieve cohesion. What is cohesive about your kitchen is that it is a wonderful hodge podge of different vintage eras and looks, everything is meaningful to .you, and it exudes history. I'll take that any day to an attempt to look streamlined.


    Wish I had pics to show you of my friends' kitchen. Ground level of a 1700s farmhouse with stone walls and terra cotta floors. He is an antique dealer and their table, chairs, free standing cupboards, butcher block are all incredible and old. They have mustard yellow appliances from the 1970s, and 1990s lower cabinets with laminate countertops. And, it all looks fanastic and magazine worthy together. It is hard to find pics of places like this because most pics are created to sell something and what they have and what you have is too unique for that kind of marketing. Way to go.



    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @kendrah, Thanks again! Good info on the vent. I didn't mean to imply that there was a standard, simply that La Cornue states what specs are required to *adequately* vent their ranges. I realize that *adequately* is troublesome in the absence of standards. BAsed on advice, we are installing a 900 cfm ductless vent with charcoal filtration. We also have two window in the kitchen and a door that opens onto the back deck. Finally, given that it is an old house, it is not at all "tight." Still I understand and appreciate your comments. Thank you.


    Your friend's kitchen sounds amazing!

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    Progress, Progress, Progress...but will we be cooking the Christmas goose in the La Cornue or on the Big Green Egg? Time will tell!


    Here we have the hardibacker in place for tile, water lines installed and electrical wired for the vent and an outlet:




  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago



    This is the current cold water faucet on our sink. I like how it has the two metals. Unfortunately the hot does not match it.

  • ffpalms
    4 months ago

    I’m confused about the faucets. They don’t seem to match your previous photo.

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    The pictures I just posted are the same--the cold water faucet pictured in the original photo. I like the way it has the two metals, and I'd love to find something similar either just for the hot OR as a wall mount mixer faucet.

  • ffpalms
    4 months ago

    I’d save this decision for last. I’m really liking the quirkiness of the mis-match with your stove.



    3Bird thanked ffpalms
  • latifolia
    4 months ago

    @kaseki is the expert on ventilation, so hoping she will pipe in. Having had both ductless and ducted, there is no comparison. My ductwork goes through the ceiling and out the side wall of our house. While its easiest to have the stove back up to an outside wall, there are other options.

    3Bird thanked latifolia
  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 months ago

    Really awesome kitchen!

    Regarding the metals, I love your cold water faucet--it looks like aged pewter. What about using an aged pewter or vintage nickel?

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC Thanks! We were wondering what the metal is. I agree I really like it. It would be fun to have a mixer faucet, but if I could find a hot one similar to the cold, I'd go for that. Do you have a good source you like for faucets in either aged pewter or vintage nickle?

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    More progress! The custom cabinetry built to contour around the chimney is just about ready to be installed, and the open shelving is in.


    Funny story: I grew up in a c. 1710 house with not a single drawer in the kitchen. When my wife and I bought this c. 1870 house, I failed to notice there was not a single drawer in the kitchen until we were starting to put things away after moving in. lol. So with this mini reno, we decided to add three drawers!

  • latifolia
    4 months ago

    Looks great. If that chimney is disused, any chance you could vent through that?

    3Bird thanked latifolia
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    latifolia, We talked it through with some folks and they were not optimistic of venting through it, which was a bummer. We had the same though initially.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 months ago

    Sigma Faucets out of California makes great products, in a wide variety of finishes. Here are links to their finishes and their kitchen faucets, both widespread and wall-mounted:

    https://www.sigmafaucet.com/finishes

    https://www.sigmafaucet.com/kitchen-and-bar/widespread-kitchen.html

    https://www.sigmafaucet.com/kitchen-and-bar/wallmount-kitchen.html

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 months ago

    Also California Faucets makes a wide variety of finishes:

    https://www.calfaucets.com/finishes

    Their bridge faucets would work in your kitchen:

    https://www.calfaucets.com/kitchen/faucets/bridge

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago
  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    Thanks for bringing us along the stages of this remodel. The cabinets and shelves are fantastic. Glad you have upgraded to three drawers. Enjoy.


    In our old house we vented up through the plaster ceiling, took a right turn between floor joists, and out the side of the house.


    Yes, drafty old houses aren’t the best for heat escaping but they sure do provide free air circulation.

    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    @Kendrah, We looked into running a vent in the ceiling, but the joists run the wrong way. :-( Hopefully our drafty old house will be an asset here! :-)

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    The Cornufe 110 delivered a few days ago, but I have not gotten around to posting pictures. The three crows where the tile backsplash will go is one of the two final possibilities for the tile mural. It is one of three incarnations of the logo of the Three Crow Spice brand that was owned by the Bird family and sold by Almon Bird who moved to this house in 1872.



    ...and slid into position!



    We have actually installed the counter too now too, but I'll post that later.


    Merry Christmas to us!

  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    Such a beautiful match between the range and mural colors. Would enjoy seeing both murals. Love your dedication to the history of your home.


    Another safety thought. I’d build the tiniest sliver of base filler and countertop to the right of the range that even encroaches into the door trim. I do not like that someone can walk right through the doorway and hit the handle of a pot or pan on the stove. Sure, you can always intend to face the handles inward but trips to the ER are often born from best intentions.

    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @kendra Thanks so much! We are planning something like you describe on that side of the range. It's not much space, so we decided to get the range in place and then see exactly how much room we have!

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    We got the counter installed in time for Christmas cooking!



    And we started to populate our open shelves. We cook a fair bit of Mexican food (and we grow over 5o cultivars of chilis on our farm on the coast of Maine!), and, as a result, we have a lot of very special cooking vessels and tools from Mexico and other Central and South American countries. Initially, we thought we would lean into these items for the open shelving, but we're trying other things (like leaning into our corvid theme!). Anyway, expect that space to evolve!



    And for those of you curious, here is the other contender for the tile mural. This (the round one) is the Three Bird spice brand first logo from the 19th century. The other logo is from the 20th century (and there was a third mid-20th century). My wife is leaning toward the original logo but with the colors from the other one.




  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    You have a great eye. This has come together so wonderfully. Glad you got to cook for Christmas too. In general, I too like the colors of the new but the design of the older. But, I think the newer one is more graphic and will read better with a hood above it.

    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • Hellogardener
    4 months ago

    Following

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 months ago

    Wow, it looks great already! You were so lucky that you were able to use it for Christmas dinner!

    Keep us posted on the progress of the rest of the kitchen.

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • Paul F.
    4 months ago

    There it is... in an old Maine newspaper dated June 25, 1895.


  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    That's the one, @Paul F.! :-)

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    My wife found these knobs for the drawers and cabinets that she really likes. Thoughts?



    Ringed Edge Round Cabinet Knob - 1 3/16" Diameter from https://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/.

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    4 months ago

    Love ^

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • happyleg
    4 months ago

    Your place is nicely done in cozy and yes those dumps are perfect I really like them they go very well with your surroundings

    3Bird thanked happyleg
  • Kendrah
    4 months ago
    last modified: 4 months ago

    Cabinet Hardware - With all the historic and heavy wearing materials in your kitchen, I’d be sad to see a faux distressed zinc alloy knob. I’d splurge for unlacqured brass with an antique finish (meaning it wont be a bright polished color to start with, nor will it be faux.) You’ll love the weight of it in your hand each time you use it, and it will develop its own authentic patina over time.


    I love Armak Martin, though there are so many other great companies to choose from that work with solid brass.




    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @kendrah Those are gorgeous! They are also $62 each. But I hear what you are saying.

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    Mariana Borges, Thank you! We're now looking at solid brass knobs (un-lacquered). On the sink faucet, we had not considered matte black. I agree that going all brass may feel overwhelming.

  • Sherry8aNorthAL
    4 months ago

    Beautiful! Have you thought of running a vent pipe along the wall at the ceiling, to the outside on the right, then boxing it in like the chimney?

    On the other hand my son has a big gas cooktop and a huge vent over it. I have never

    seen him use the vent.

    3Bird thanked Sherry8aNorthAL
  • la_la Girl
    4 months ago

    What a happy, gorgeous kitchen!

    3Bird thanked la_la Girl
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @Sherry8aNorthAL Thank you! We talked about "running a vent pipe along the wall at the ceiling, to the outside on the right, then boxing it in like the chimney," but the wall there is not an exterior wall. The ductwork would need to make another right hand turn and run toward the sink before exiting.

  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    Yep, expensive knobs but you only need five of them and it is probably a teeny fraction of what you paid for your Rolls Royce of a range! I recall getting lots of amazing vintage hardware at a salvage place near Kennebunkport Maine.


    Classic Brass is another good place to look and probably less expensive than Armac Martin. They have loads of finish shades.




  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    @Kendrah, Ha! We need six knobs though, and we searched long (years) and hard (showrooms in multiple states) to find the best deal on that range! We also saved for years. :-) I'd like to know about that vintage hardware place near Kennebunkport! I bet the folks at Well-Housed know. I'll check out Classic Brass. Thank you! Do you know anything about House of Antique Hardware's Antique-By-Hand finish for solid brass?

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    4 months ago

    Looks like some mixed reviews on House of Antique Hardware: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2668238/house-of-antique-hardware-reviews#n=12

  • Kendrah
    4 months ago

    Sorry for making assumptions about how deep your pockets are based on your range. Old House Parts is the place we went to. It is my version of heaven. So much to browse. We got a bunch of light fixtures from them and a door knob or two. Don’t be afraid to negotiate price and don’t tell them you have a Le Cornue!


    I’ve never purchased from House of Antiques. I’ve browsed a lot and thought their pieces are either someewhat cheesy, or sold by other vendors I know better. If you see something you like therecdo a google image search and see if a vendor you loke better has it for sale.


    Lastly, there are some fantastic antique knobs on EBay. Problem is they are often in small lots of 6 or 8, which has always been to small for my needs. Could be the jackpot for you!


    Old House Parts

    1 Trackside Drive, Kennebunk, parts@oldhouseparts.com

    Mon to Saturday, 9am to 5pm

    207) 985-1999



    3Bird thanked Kendrah
  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    3 months ago

    Thank you so much, @kendrah!


  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    last month
    last modified: last month

    It's been a while! The kitchen remodel was interrupted by an extended trip to parts south and then some crazy work stuff that is just settling down. We've been searching for the right knobs (Thanks, @kendrah), and the sample knobs arrived finally. This is our favorite. It's solid brass from Classic Brass in Jamestown, NY, and it's the 1.25" brass knob from their Hutter Collection. What do you think?



    And in comparison with the range:




    And with the chandilier (don't mind our housework...or lack thereof!):



  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    29 days ago

    I hadn't heard of Classic Brass before, and I visited their website. VERY beautiful products. Personally I would go for something a bit simpler than the one you've chosen. I like to have smooth finishes on knobs--less area for dirt to collect. And I'd probably get an unlacquered polished brass to work better with the knobs on your range.

    I like the 1134 1 1/4" Hutter knob, as well as the 1864 1 1/4" Hutter. I also think the Hutter bail pulls are beautiful and very appropriate for the style of your kitchen. A lot of the English kitchens (DeVol comes to mind) use bail pulls on the drawers.


    The Heirloom Collection at Cotes Mill by deVOL · More Info


    The Heirloom Collection at Cotes Mill by deVOL · More Info


    Lidham Hill Farm Farmhouse Kitchen by deVOL · More Info

    I love the way you're approaching this renovation--it's unique and different from the typical Houzz kitchen we see here all the time!

    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
  • happyleg
    29 days ago

    Nice looking vent and nice knobs they really match good with the light I wouldn't though put paper over the stove if you love that frame put it in good frame that it won't get dirty or have a fire with glass in front

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    29 days ago
    last modified: 29 days ago

    @Diana Bier Interiors, LLC Thank you! Will look at those other knobs and bails! We were going to let the brass on the range patina like the lamp and the latches and hinges on the built-in on the opposite side of the room, which is why my wife didn't go for the unlaquered polished brass. You don't think the polished brass would be too much bling?

  • 3Bird
    Original Author
    29 days ago

    @happyleg Thank you. The wall behind the range is going to be tiled with a custom tile mural. We were just playing around with different designs and taping them up to see how we like them. :-)

  • PRO
    Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
    29 days ago

    3Bird, the unlacquered polished brass will be shiny at first, but not for long. It will patina with time and exposure to the air. It's only the lacquered brass that stays shiny unnaturally.


    3Bird thanked Diana Bier Interiors, LLC