Kitchen of the Week: European Style for a Rambling Ranch House
A designer gives a home cook’s kitchen an old-world feel with layers of thoughtful materials
The kitchen in this Minneapolis-area rambling ranch wasn’t cutting it for a home cook who loves to prepare meals for her family. Armed with inspiration images from designer Emily Pueringer’s portfolio as well as a favorite blogger’s kitchen with a very long island, she hired Pueringer herself to design the kitchen.
By combining the existing kitchen and adjacent dining room, the designer gave her clients a large kitchen with plenty of space for cooking, baking and gathering. The layout includes a long island down the center, a significant range alcove, a desk area for writing letters and separate fridge and freezer units. The new kitchen’s style evokes old-world European charm with ceiling beams, marble, hand-painted terra-cotta tiles and brass accents.
By combining the existing kitchen and adjacent dining room, the designer gave her clients a large kitchen with plenty of space for cooking, baking and gathering. The layout includes a long island down the center, a significant range alcove, a desk area for writing letters and separate fridge and freezer units. The new kitchen’s style evokes old-world European charm with ceiling beams, marble, hand-painted terra-cotta tiles and brass accents.
Before Photo
After: Pueringer removed the thick wall between the kitchen and dining room to expand the footprint of the kitchen. This photo was taken from a different angle than the previous one. To help orient things, the middle of the range alcove lines up right about where the existing kitchen and dining room met. The new French doors are about where the window over the kitchen sink was.
The designer worked closely with the wife, who had admired her Chateau Margaux project. “She also liked the layout of a kitchen that had a long island she’d seen on a well-known blog,” Pueringer says.
The new island measures 13 feet long by 3½ feet wide. The base is white oak with a medium-dark stain, and it has open shelves for cookbooks and large platters on one end. The work zone revolves around a large range alcove, flanked by white oak cabinets, with the freezer unit on the right end and the fridge on the left end. Pueringer placed the fridge and freezer units separately to enhance the symmetry and maintain nice proportions.
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The designer worked closely with the wife, who had admired her Chateau Margaux project. “She also liked the layout of a kitchen that had a long island she’d seen on a well-known blog,” Pueringer says.
The new island measures 13 feet long by 3½ feet wide. The base is white oak with a medium-dark stain, and it has open shelves for cookbooks and large platters on one end. The work zone revolves around a large range alcove, flanked by white oak cabinets, with the freezer unit on the right end and the fridge on the left end. Pueringer placed the fridge and freezer units separately to enhance the symmetry and maintain nice proportions.
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A large range was also on the homeowner’s wish list. She loves to make Italian meals, so it’s only fitting that she have an Italian range. This is a 48-inch model from Ilve. “With such a long island, I needed to think about making everything else proportional,” Pueringer says. “One mistake I see people make with range alcoves is not leaving enough countertop space around it.” Here, the counters are about 2 feet long on either side of the range.
The range alcove serves as a focal point in the room and the heart of the work zone. Pueringer placed the kitchen sink directly across from the range in the island. The dishwasher is next to the sink.
The range alcove serves as a focal point in the room and the heart of the work zone. Pueringer placed the kitchen sink directly across from the range in the island. The dishwasher is next to the sink.
One of the things the homeowner loved about Pueringer’s Chateau Margaux project was the handpainted terra-cotta backsplash tiles by Tabarka. “I wanted to freshen up the way we use this kind of tile, so I created a checkerboard pattern with them,” Pueringer says. She mixed a tile with a floral pattern that has hints of green with warm black tiles. They add an earthy, well-worn European feel to the room. Pueringer played off the dark tiles by using black quartzite on the perimeter countertops.
The vent hood has a custom Venetian plaster finish, which also adds to the old-world feel. “I also added arches to the room to soften all the straight lines in this house,” Pueringer says. In addition to arched doorways, she added arched niches on either side of the range alcove to keep spices, oils and utensils handy while cooking. A brass pot rail allows the homeowner to show off favorite copper cookware. There are also pullouts for spices and oils, as well as deep drawers for cookware, close to the range.
The vent hood has a custom Venetian plaster finish, which also adds to the old-world feel. “I also added arches to the room to soften all the straight lines in this house,” Pueringer says. In addition to arched doorways, she added arched niches on either side of the range alcove to keep spices, oils and utensils handy while cooking. A brass pot rail allows the homeowner to show off favorite copper cookware. There are also pullouts for spices and oils, as well as deep drawers for cookware, close to the range.
The designer reinforced the alcove’s presence with symmetry. She flanked it with cabinets that match the island’s quartersawn white oak. These cabinets bring contrast and warmth to the room. The upper cabinets have diamond-patterned brass mesh inserts that add texture and depth.
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The panel-front fridge and freezer units bookend the alcove wall. Here we see the fridge, and the freezer is on the opposite end of the wall. “It’s really nice to be able to break these up,” Pueringer says. In some kitchens, a hulking refrigerator-freezer can throw off the proportions of the space.
Pueringer also kept proportion and scale in mind when choosing the pendant lights. “These ceilings are only 8 feet high and these were appropriate for the scale,” she says. “They also have the timeless vintage vibe that we were looking for.”
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Pueringer also kept proportion and scale in mind when choosing the pendant lights. “These ceilings are only 8 feet high and these were appropriate for the scale,” she says. “They also have the timeless vintage vibe that we were looking for.”
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Here’s the other side of the island, which includes the kitchen sink, the dishwasher, additional storage and a trash and recycling pullout. But the most important part of it is the empty space Pueringer left for a chef’s stool. “My client tells me she uses it a lot,” she says.
New faux ceiling beams lend a sense of age to the ceiling. They also break up its long length.
New faux ceiling beams lend a sense of age to the ceiling. They also break up its long length.
The wife enjoys baking, so marble was a good choice for the island countertop. “This is so, so stunning and has hints of green in the veining,” Pueringer says. “I used an ogee edge on this countertop to set it off.” Please note that marble is a softer material and will show stains and chip more easily than harder materials. Deciding if you can live with that is important when considering this material.
The arched door opens to a walk-in pantry. It has ribbed glass that reflects the light while obscuring the view inside.
The arched door opens to a walk-in pantry. It has ribbed glass that reflects the light while obscuring the view inside.
There’s plenty of room for the homeowner’s pastas, bulk goods and small appliances in the pantry. It was also an opportunity to add a little more of her favorite green to the room. The V-groove paneling inside is a material Pueringer repeated throughout the renovation.
Before Photo
Before: One end of the new kitchen used to be this dining room, located off the front entry of the house.
After: This is the new view from the front entry. The new windows are more traditional and match other new windows and doors Pueringer used in the project. The homeowner wanted an antique desk at this end of the kitchen. “She loves to write thank-you notes and letters here,” Pueringer says. “She’s just such a wonderful person and was lovely to work with.”
Behind the desk, the designer created a special arched niche for display, with cabinets below. The panel-front fridge is on the right.
Behind the desk, the designer created a special arched niche for display, with cabinets below. The panel-front fridge is on the right.
Brass rails keep things in place and add patina to the shelves. Pueringer backed the shelves with V-groove paneling.
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Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
Before Photo
Before: This breakfast room was located directly off the kitchen. The new French doors in the kitchen that lead to the deck rendered these sliding doors unnecessary.
After: “This is a suburban family that enjoys lots of family meals together,” Pueringer says. She made the breakfast area much more inviting, replacing the sliders with new windows and nestling a banquette into the bay they form. V-groove paneling in the homeowner’s favorite green and vintage-look sconces add to the cozy feel.
Paneling paint: Avocado, Sherwin-Williams
Paneling paint: Avocado, Sherwin-Williams
The designer also made the most of what had been a blank wall in the breakfast room. This dry bar has the same white oak cabinets and dark quartzite counters she used in the kitchen. Another terra-cotta tile adds pattern and texture behind the arched niche in the center.
“My client has told me that this is her dream kitchen and that she absolutely loves it,” Pueringer says. “She sends me photos of roasts and other things she’s cooked when she tells me.”
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“My client has told me that this is her dream kitchen and that she absolutely loves it,” Pueringer says. “She sends me photos of roasts and other things she’s cooked when she tells me.”
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their teenagers
Location: Minneapolis area
Size: 359 square feet (33 square meters) plus breakfast room
Designer: Emily Pueringer
Contractor: Quality Cut Design|Remodel
Before: This is the original kitchen, with the dining room behind it. The wife loves to cook big family meals, especially Italian food. However, the kitchen’s layout and lack of counter space made it a challenge, and there was no room for anyone to keep the cook company in the kitchen. Aesthetically, the homeowner had an affinity for the color green, for terra-cotta tile and for marble.
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