Rich Green and Retro Touches Remake a Kitchen
Inspiration from when this home was built helps set a retro-mod design direction for a remodel
Erin Carlyle
May 23, 2018
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes... More
“After” photos by Click Photography
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Size: About 165 square feet (about 15 square meters)
Designer: Shannon Eckel-Braun, Design Factory Interiors
The owners of this home wanted to expand and update their kitchen with a mix of elements — some contemporary, and some that pay homage to the era when this home was built, around the late 1920s or early ’30s. Vintage-style touches include the Shaker-style cabinets and furniture-like legs on the island. Shelves at the end give the owners a place to display decorative items.
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Size: About 165 square feet (about 15 square meters)
Designer: Shannon Eckel-Braun, Design Factory Interiors
The owners of this home wanted to expand and update their kitchen with a mix of elements — some contemporary, and some that pay homage to the era when this home was built, around the late 1920s or early ’30s. Vintage-style touches include the Shaker-style cabinets and furniture-like legs on the island. Shelves at the end give the owners a place to display decorative items.
Before. The area that is now the kitchen formerly was divided into two rooms: a dining room and a kitchen. A tight layout, wood cabinets and a dark backsplash made the kitchen feel crammed, and the homeowners found it unpleasant for cooking.
After. Designer Shannon Eckel-Braun had the wall between the two rooms removed to make the kitchen feel more open. Before the renovation, the wall dividing the two spaces was located just to the left of the stove, shown in this photo. The window, partially seen on the right, remains in its original place.
Countertop. The island and perimeter countertop are both engineered quartz. Eckel-Braun chose the white material with gray veining for its marble-like look. “I really love marble, and it’s beautiful, but it does stain,” she says. Given that the homeowners are avid cooks, she wanted to find something resistant and durable.
Cabinets. The cabinets have Shaker doors with an inset faced frame, meaning that the doors are set into the cabinet boxes so that the box edges show. Glass windowpanes for the upper cabinetry were common in the 1920s, Eckel-Braun says. The rich green on the lower cabinets is a custom-mixed paint that started off as Dollar Bill Green by Benjamin Moore and evolved as the designer tweaked it.
The homeowners have many friends who are artists, and the upper cabinets hold handmade bowls and pretty pottery collected over the years. “Their cabinets are full of quirky, awesome things,” Eckel-Braun says.
Range hood. A shallow range hood vents directly outside, giving the homeowners plentiful functional cabinet space above it.
Pendants: Cedar & Moss; counters: Modena stone quartz in Calacatta gold, Naturale collection, Natural Stone City; cabinetry: Bendt Kitchens & Millwork; upper cabinetry paint: Oxford White, Benjamin Moore
What to Know Before Your Tear Down That Wall
Countertop. The island and perimeter countertop are both engineered quartz. Eckel-Braun chose the white material with gray veining for its marble-like look. “I really love marble, and it’s beautiful, but it does stain,” she says. Given that the homeowners are avid cooks, she wanted to find something resistant and durable.
Cabinets. The cabinets have Shaker doors with an inset faced frame, meaning that the doors are set into the cabinet boxes so that the box edges show. Glass windowpanes for the upper cabinetry were common in the 1920s, Eckel-Braun says. The rich green on the lower cabinets is a custom-mixed paint that started off as Dollar Bill Green by Benjamin Moore and evolved as the designer tweaked it.
The homeowners have many friends who are artists, and the upper cabinets hold handmade bowls and pretty pottery collected over the years. “Their cabinets are full of quirky, awesome things,” Eckel-Braun says.
Range hood. A shallow range hood vents directly outside, giving the homeowners plentiful functional cabinet space above it.
Pendants: Cedar & Moss; counters: Modena stone quartz in Calacatta gold, Naturale collection, Natural Stone City; cabinetry: Bendt Kitchens & Millwork; upper cabinetry paint: Oxford White, Benjamin Moore
What to Know Before Your Tear Down That Wall
Cabinet hardware. Eckel-Braun chose three types of brass hardware for the cabinets: latches, round knobs and file pulls. The round knobs and turning latches would have been used in the 1920s, Eckel-Braun says; the file pulls are a more current look in kitchens.
Sink. The sink is a stainless steel undermount model that Eckel-Braun paired with a chrome faucet.
Cabinet hardware: Home Depot and vintage; see more brass cabinet hardware
How to Choose the Right Kitchen Sink
Sink. The sink is a stainless steel undermount model that Eckel-Braun paired with a chrome faucet.
Cabinet hardware: Home Depot and vintage; see more brass cabinet hardware
How to Choose the Right Kitchen Sink
Dish rack. The homeowners really wanted a built-in dish rack, another 1920s detail. To keep the dish rack from looking too country, Eckel-Braun painted it white and installed it as part of a larger built-in piece.
Backsplash. The off-white ceramic tiles are square, a shape that is appropriate for the home’s era yet unexpected compared to another era-appropriate option, classic subway tile, Eckel-Braun says.
Backsplash: Olympia Tile + Stone; see more ceramic tile
Backsplash. The off-white ceramic tiles are square, a shape that is appropriate for the home’s era yet unexpected compared to another era-appropriate option, classic subway tile, Eckel-Braun says.
Backsplash: Olympia Tile + Stone; see more ceramic tile
By the door. Next to a door that leads outside, Eckel-Braun pulled back the cabinetry run by ending the upper cabinets and adding a shallow (12-inch-deep) base cabinet. “I wanted it to be recessed back so you feel like you can smoothly walk around it,” she says. “I didn’t want the countertops to just end.”
The counter ledge makes a great place for creating a vignette — the photographs shown in this photo were taken by the homeowners’ daughter — and the couple keep toys and books for their grandchildren in the shallow cabinet.
The counter ledge makes a great place for creating a vignette — the photographs shown in this photo were taken by the homeowners’ daughter — and the couple keep toys and books for their grandchildren in the shallow cabinet.
Home bar. Opposite the door, Eckel-Braun added a tall built-in reminiscent of a vintage tea cabinet that the grandmother of one of the homeowners had. The door below the two open shelves folds open to create a flat surface, like a secretary desk. The homeowners like to mix their cocktails here.
Find a pro to help with your kitchen remodel
Find a pro to help with your kitchen remodel
Casual eating area. A banquette and dining table make for a comfortable place to eat when the couple’s grandchildren visit. The banquette cushion is upholstered in a green velvet that echoes the cabinet color. The homeowners found the antique oak table at a local shop.
Floor. Originally the homeowners planned to have a black-and-white checkered floor, but they decided instead on gray in a diamond pattern, which feels both retro and fresh. Each tile is 24 inches square.
Floor. Originally the homeowners planned to have a black-and-white checkered floor, but they decided instead on gray in a diamond pattern, which feels both retro and fresh. Each tile is 24 inches square.
The kitchen island makes good use of the long space created by combining the two rooms. The homeowners tend to do meal prep at the far end of the island, within the work triangle formed by the refrigerator, island edge and sink. To the left of the refrigerator are three open wood shelves, and behind them, a staircase to the second story.
Pendants. The pendant style and details throughout the room vary, from translucent globes above the island to a milk glass shade above the dining table. “We didn’t want them to be matchy-matchy,” Eckel-Braun says. “They’re from the same company, so the brass is consistent.”
Wall paint: Repose Gray, Sherwin-Williams
More
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Seeing Green: Some Kitchens Ditch White for Mother Nature’s Neutral
Pendants. The pendant style and details throughout the room vary, from translucent globes above the island to a milk glass shade above the dining table. “We didn’t want them to be matchy-matchy,” Eckel-Braun says. “They’re from the same company, so the brass is consistent.”
Wall paint: Repose Gray, Sherwin-Williams
More
How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Seeing Green: Some Kitchens Ditch White for Mother Nature’s Neutral
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Can you tell us more about the floor tiles? What is the material and who is the manufacturer? Pattern on the floor is so appropriate for this modern retro kitchen.
Adorable!