A Farmhouse Kitchen Remodel

24 Feb A Farmhouse Kitchen Remodel

The projects I love most are when my clients and contractors work closely as a team. This farmhouse kitchen remodel project was one of those fun ones. My clients in Lebanon have an old farm house that they had spent years slowly remodeling. The whole house had been worked on in one way or the other except for the kitchen. My clients did not have a nailed down vision of their intended end result. However, through the remodeling process, each element built upon the other as they discovered what they wanted and what went well with each change and decision.

The existing kitchen needed a total makeover; it had low quality, short cabinets, outdated appliances, and the walls had been stuccoed and painted brown. My clients had two goals: she wanted a rustic, modern feel, and he wanted wood to feature significantly. However, she was worried that the wood would make the kitchen look too dark, as she also wanted black appliances. So, we worked with our custom cabinet maker to find a light-colored stain that kept the kitchen bright, choosing knotty alder for its rustic textures. He found us a stain that we just loved, and it went with the wood trim around the doors and windows. The cabinets are sand colored with pink undertones, a kind of rosy taupe. We replaced the hard wood floors with tile, as my clients raise rescue dogs and this material would be easier to clean. The light-colored wood counterbalanced the tile floor perfectly.

Completely redoing the lighting was another way we kept the kitchen bright and welcoming. The existing lighting was awfully dark, so I created a layered light scheme to brighten the space. The windows and patio door were expanded to allow as much natural light as possible. I installed new canned lighting in the ceiling, pendant lights over the island and kitchen table, and under-cabinet lighting. The metal light fixtures we chose were outfitted with rope, mirrored hoods, and retro light bulbs, matching the rustic feel my client wanted.

To pull in softness among the mostly angular kitchen, we chose soft gray finish for the faucet and cabinet hardware. We also installed a farm sink. I blunted the windows with some small skirt curtains, and we chose round, cream-colored dining room chairs. To the bar stools, I added a linen back with an interesting pattern, and covered the seats with vinyl for easy cleanup.

I was very pleased with the textures and patterns working in this kitchen. The granite we chose for the counter tops had big, wavy movements, which was counterbalanced by the geometric mosaic tile back splash, but then echoed again by the knotty alder. The natural stone color in the floor tile and the cabinet’s sandy rose color was basically the same, and altogether the kitchen has a rather monochromatic palette. There is not a big splash of color anywhere, but all the different textures in the ceiling, cabinets, light fixtures, counter tops and tile creates a peaceful space that still has a lot of personality.

I really enjoy working with my clients and contractors, and this project is a neat example of teamwork. Throughout the process we all threw possibilities into the pot to see what surfaced as the best ideas to pull everything together. Now my clients can enjoy a kitchen that suits them both.