The existing kitchen was a throwback to the 1980’s with white European slab cabinets and black polished countertops and backsplash. While the square footage of the space was adequate, the kitchen had an awkward entrance and lacked efficiency and modern-day functionality. The clients wanted to completely overhaul the look and feel, and transform the existing space into a family-friendly kitchen that conformed to their aesthetic: best described as modern, rustic and eclectic. The adjacent mudroom, laundry room and powder room were surveyed to see how much flexibility there was to enhance the kitchen layout while improving upon all of the spaces. The homeowners felt strongly about light painted cabinets and let us guide the rest of the design.

This family enters the house mainly through the garage, and enhancing that experience was important to us. We shifted the door to the garage which led to the creation of a rear entrance hall- a perfect place to add cabinetry and counter space to help organize daily clutter. Branching off the hallway is the new mudroom complete with a bench, open and closed storage, and coat hooks; and the laundry room which also features an abundance of storage. The new hallway shifts the circulation toward the rear of the house allowing the new kitchen layout to take advantage of the entire space. Now there are separate and spacious work zones for the cook, bar area, clean-up crew, and diners.

To conform to the client’s aesthetic, materials with a rustic and industrial feel were selected. The white cabinets have a grey striated glaze which blends well with the heavily textured grey island cabinets and exposed reclaimed wood beams. The Neolith countertop has a unique metallic quality that compliments the hardware and zinc accents on the floating shelves and custom kitchen table. Finishing touches include the custom reclaimed wood pocket doors, custom steel counter support, and iron light fixtures.