Kitchen of the Week
Before and Afters
Kitchen of the Week: City Loft Vibes in a Former Horse Barn
When demolition revealed a massive design challenge, a designer pivoted to solve the problem
This is the story of an 1820s New Jersey horse barn that was converted into a house in the 1930s and is in the middle of a makeover. The home’s great room, which includes the kitchen, dining room and family room, was recently completed by designer Alison Griffin. Because this is an old house, Griffin knew there would be surprises and challenges during the remodel. Her clients, the parents of two young girls, were up for anything. “We all knew we were in for a ride, and they rolled with the punches,” Griffin says.
When the designer and her clients chose traditional finishes for the kitchen, they expected that demolition would reveal the barn’s original post-and-beam architecture. But what they uncovered made it necessary for them to pivot away from a purely traditional look. The resulting city loft style is a mix of old meets new, with plenty of room for cooking and family gatherings.
When the designer and her clients chose traditional finishes for the kitchen, they expected that demolition would reveal the barn’s original post-and-beam architecture. But what they uncovered made it necessary for them to pivot away from a purely traditional look. The resulting city loft style is a mix of old meets new, with plenty of room for cooking and family gatherings.
After: The kitchen replaced the existing family room area in the front of the house. The windows on the range wall facing the side yard are the same openings seen on either side of the TV in the previous photo.
The renovation team made a disappointing discovery after taking the room down to the studs. The framing system installed when the barn was converted into a house in the 1930s prevented them from exposing the posts and beams of the barn’s original 1820s architecture. “When we first saw that instead of posts and beams we had a modern framed ceiling, we thought, ‘Oh no! Where do we go from here?’” Griffin says.
The designer says that revealing the modern framing was a must. The large size of the room made the low ceilings feel even lower. “I knew that opening the ceiling and exposing the joists would make the room visually taller,” she says. “The joists gave the space more of a city loft feeling, so we embraced that.” This raised the ceiling height to about 8½ feet.
Griffin gave the kitchen L-shaped cabinetry and an island that measures 7¾ by 4 feet. The island contains a sink, a dishwasher, a trash and recycling pullout and extra storage on the seating side. On the wall to the left is the freezer, the fridge and a pantry cabinet.
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The renovation team made a disappointing discovery after taking the room down to the studs. The framing system installed when the barn was converted into a house in the 1930s prevented them from exposing the posts and beams of the barn’s original 1820s architecture. “When we first saw that instead of posts and beams we had a modern framed ceiling, we thought, ‘Oh no! Where do we go from here?’” Griffin says.
The designer says that revealing the modern framing was a must. The large size of the room made the low ceilings feel even lower. “I knew that opening the ceiling and exposing the joists would make the room visually taller,” she says. “The joists gave the space more of a city loft feeling, so we embraced that.” This raised the ceiling height to about 8½ feet.
Griffin gave the kitchen L-shaped cabinetry and an island that measures 7¾ by 4 feet. The island contains a sink, a dishwasher, a trash and recycling pullout and extra storage on the seating side. On the wall to the left is the freezer, the fridge and a pantry cabinet.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Before: This photo shows the same corner before the remodel, taken from a different angle. “I had to lose a window to place the freezer, fridge and pantry [cupboard], but it had a covered porch on the other side of it so it didn’t let in much light,” Griffin says. “It’s painful to lose a window, so I had my clients close the interior shutters and live with it like that for a while to be sure they were willing to sacrifice it. It didn’t really make a difference.”
After: Losing the window allowed Griffin to maximize storage along the wall. She always takes a careful inventory of everything her clients want to store in the kitchen before she begins the design. “In this case, they had more than I had expected,” she says.
The homeowners and Griffin had worked out the color and material palettes before demolition began. “We used natural textures and muted colors,” she says. The designer gave a lot of thought to texture during the process. The cabinet finishes are a mix of cherry wood and soft gray paint with green undertones. The backsplash is zellige-style tile, with irregular edges and a handmade feel. The island countertop is Black Zimbabwe granite with a leathered finish, and the perimeter counters are quartz with a marble look.
Cabinet paint: Downing Stone, Sherwin-Williams
The homeowners and Griffin had worked out the color and material palettes before demolition began. “We used natural textures and muted colors,” she says. The designer gave a lot of thought to texture during the process. The cabinet finishes are a mix of cherry wood and soft gray paint with green undertones. The backsplash is zellige-style tile, with irregular edges and a handmade feel. The island countertop is Black Zimbabwe granite with a leathered finish, and the perimeter counters are quartz with a marble look.
Cabinet paint: Downing Stone, Sherwin-Williams
The kitchen has an English-inspired aesthetic from the original plan, combined with sconces, cabinet hardware and ceiling lights that are more streamlined to create the city loft look. The freezer, refrigerator and pantry are hidden behind tall cabinet doors.
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Here’s a peek into the freezer and fridge, which are separate units. The cabinet to the right is the pantry.
One place where Griffin added extra storage was on the seating side of the island. The cabinet doors on that side pop open when pushed so that no hardware was required. This helps them blend into the island base when viewed from the living and dining areas.
One place where Griffin added extra storage was on the seating side of the island. The cabinet doors on that side pop open when pushed so that no hardware was required. This helps them blend into the island base when viewed from the living and dining areas.
On the adjacent wall is a Super Susan cabinet, a 30-inch steam oven and a 48-inch dual-fuel range. Griffin replaced the windows and doors with more efficient and modern ones. The windows flanking the range are operable casement windows. The custom vent hood is cherry to match the tall cabinets.
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Before: “Back in the 1930s when they converted the horse barn into a house, they didn’t want it to resemble a barn at all, they wanted it to look like a house,” Griffin says. “So while we were looking to celebrate its history as a barn, we found we couldn’t turn it back into one.”
The extensive built-ins and traditional fireplace in the large room were certainly more house than barn. While the fireplace was a big asset, its traditional surround didn’t suit the new aesthetic.
The extensive built-ins and traditional fireplace in the large room were certainly more house than barn. While the fireplace was a big asset, its traditional surround didn’t suit the new aesthetic.
After: Griffin used the ceilings to make the room brighter as well as taller. “I had drywall added between each joist to cover the second level’s subflooring. Then I had it painted the same color as the walls to bounce the light around.” The wall and ceiling paint color is Dove Wing by Benjamin Moore. “I needed to go with a creamy white because a brighter white would have felt too stark and sterile,” Griffin says.
The color of the ceiling joists is the result of a mistake made by the painters. “The original joists were really dirty and the color varied, so we had them cleaned and sanded,” Griffin says. “But due to a miscommunication with the painters, they wound up painting the joists Dove Wing. We had to have them sand that paint off, but the result is a nice whitewashed finish on the joists. It was a happy accident.”
Another important ceiling detail is the addition of boards that run perpendicular to the original joists, seen here centered over the table. Griffin added this for extra support and to serve as an axis, a central line that helps organize a space. “I centered the dining table, the island and the range off this axis. It helps to tie the space together,” she says.
Design Pros Share 10 Favorite Creamy White Paints
The color of the ceiling joists is the result of a mistake made by the painters. “The original joists were really dirty and the color varied, so we had them cleaned and sanded,” Griffin says. “But due to a miscommunication with the painters, they wound up painting the joists Dove Wing. We had to have them sand that paint off, but the result is a nice whitewashed finish on the joists. It was a happy accident.”
Another important ceiling detail is the addition of boards that run perpendicular to the original joists, seen here centered over the table. Griffin added this for extra support and to serve as an axis, a central line that helps organize a space. “I centered the dining table, the island and the range off this axis. It helps to tie the space together,” she says.
Design Pros Share 10 Favorite Creamy White Paints
Because the homeowners had a lot of things they needed to store in the kitchen, Griffin took over two closets that were behind the built-ins and turned them into pantry closets with sliding barn doors. The one on the left is a U-shaped coffee bar with a prep sink. The one on the right is a family beverage bar with designated storage for trays, seasonal decorations and other overflow items.
The fireplace surround protruded from the wall. Griffin had the contractor box it out in wood to give it a strong presence against other large-scale elements in the room, like the new barn doors. “I don’t typically use barn doors because they are trendy,” Griffin says. “However, here we’re telling the story that they were here back when it was a horse barn.” While doing research for the project, she used Houzz for inspiration and collected barn door photos in an ideabook.
The homeowners opted for Wishbone chairs for their existing dining table and matching Wishbone counter stools for the island. “This choice embraced the city loft idea,” Griffin says.
The fireplace surround protruded from the wall. Griffin had the contractor box it out in wood to give it a strong presence against other large-scale elements in the room, like the new barn doors. “I don’t typically use barn doors because they are trendy,” Griffin says. “However, here we’re telling the story that they were here back when it was a horse barn.” While doing research for the project, she used Houzz for inspiration and collected barn door photos in an ideabook.
The homeowners opted for Wishbone chairs for their existing dining table and matching Wishbone counter stools for the island. “This choice embraced the city loft idea,” Griffin says.
Here’s a look at the great room from the kitchen through the dining area to the family room area. On the left is a new hearth in colored tiles that tie in with the kitchen. The previous hearth had been a tripping hazard.
The expansive view of the forest preserve wasn’t something Griffin wanted her clients to give up. This meant placing the kitchen in the front of the house. “I would never presume that a kitchen belongs in a certain spot within a house. It always depends on the house,” Griffin says. Also, a second entry door next to the kitchen makes it easy to transport groceries directly from the driveway.
Currently, the designer is working on transforming the former kitchen space into a cozy den. This will provide a spot where people can watch TV with the door shut. She’s also changed the way the rooms relate to one another, improving the flow throughout the first floor.
The expansive view of the forest preserve wasn’t something Griffin wanted her clients to give up. This meant placing the kitchen in the front of the house. “I would never presume that a kitchen belongs in a certain spot within a house. It always depends on the house,” Griffin says. Also, a second entry door next to the kitchen makes it easy to transport groceries directly from the driveway.
Currently, the designer is working on transforming the former kitchen space into a cozy den. This will provide a spot where people can watch TV with the door shut. She’s also changed the way the rooms relate to one another, improving the flow throughout the first floor.
Floor plan: This shows the kitchen portion of the great room. The freezer, refrigerator and pantry cabinet are in the top right corner. The range wall runs along the right side of the plan, with the home’s front door at bottom right. The fireplace is at bottom center, with pantry closets on either side. The dashed line represents the axis provided by the new ceiling boards.
For the front door at bottom right, Griffin replaced the existing exterior door and hinged it so it opens into the kitchen, the opposite way it had opened before. “Little things like this make a big difference in the flow,” she says.
Sometimes an unexpected discovery and subsequent change of plans can result in something exciting. “We thought we were going to bring back the barn look, but the crisis of not being able to do that turned it into something really cool,” Griffin says.
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For the front door at bottom right, Griffin replaced the existing exterior door and hinged it so it opens into the kitchen, the opposite way it had opened before. “Little things like this make a big difference in the flow,” she says.
Sometimes an unexpected discovery and subsequent change of plans can result in something exciting. “We thought we were going to bring back the barn look, but the crisis of not being able to do that turned it into something really cool,” Griffin says.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Mendham Township, New Jersey
Size: 336 square feet (31 square meters)
Designer: Alison Griffin of Griffin Designs
Before: The house is set perpendicular to a fairly busy road. The home’s front entrance, pictured here to the right of the windows, opens to a side yard.
The room — which previously contained only living and dining spaces and now also houses the kitchen — extends from this side of the house to the other in one open space. This photo looks toward the dining and family room areas. The other end of the room, which was not photographed before the remodel, contained a rarely used sitting area with expansive views of a dense forest preserve.
The room’s ceilings were just 7⅓ feet, which made the space dark. “This is such a large, long space, which made the ceilings seem even lower,” Griffin says.
The original kitchen was on the other side of the house, in a back corner. “That kitchen was small and cramped,” Griffin says. The homeowners wanted to move the kitchen to this side of the house.
This dining table, with its wood top and metal legs, was a good fit for the new city loft look and was kept.
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