Terraform
Imagine you’ve got a kick-ass English granny. She cusses a little, likes just a skosh of Sambuca in her morning coffee, still makes everything from scratch, probably has old margarine containers to store left overs and doesn’t mind leaving a few dirty dishes in the sink when she goes to bed. This is where you’ll find her.
Inspired by forms, textures and colors found in nature, this project draws me back to simpler times. Where kitchens truly started to become “the heart of the home”. For the full project just skip ahead to the project portfolio.
Let’s go back to Spring of 2022
In early Spring of 2022 a request came through from some friends of a sweet client of mine. Since the BEST projects come from referrals I was already excited. As luck would have it we had tons of mutual friends and I immediately fell in love with the vision these new clients had for their newly acquired home.
With two little boys we had a lot in common and often found ourselves taking more time than we allowed just to catch up about parenthood, this season of life, faith, friendship and all manner of things. I don’t know if this always translates well in projects that I post, but one of the biggest honors in this work is being allowed to speak into the most formative spaces in my clients every day lives. That means I spend a great deal of time getting to know them; what they want from their home, what they want from their numbered days on this earth. Through discussions with this client I found not only did they already have a great vision for their home, they have incredible style. They just needed a little nudging, reassurance and some fresh ideas to keep things moving.
The sweet family that lived here previously made beautiful updates to the rest of the home - living area, dining, bathrooms, etc. - but just weren’t in a position to take on a full kitchen remodel. On top of that they were facing the difficult transition of a divorce. We took the lead from the updates elsewhere in the home with millwork and paint selection to keep things cohesive throughout the kitchen renovation, powder bath, eat in kitchen, mudroom and laundry room.
The mudroom after borrowing space from an unused closet and free space in the adjacent garage.
The first major decision we needed to tackle was the floor plan. The foot print of the kitchen just couldn’t change; it really was the best format given the space. There was, however, a cramped entry from the garage, a redundant oversized closet, and a clumsy layout for the laundry room.
Before
The bulkheads, original linoleum and segmented flow all had their day in the sun but we didn’t want anything to feel brand new. If I have one pet peeve (let’s be real, I have many) it’s being able to pinpoint a time in recent history when a renovation was done. It really goes beyond feeling timeless. At best, I think it’s possible keep the latest trends ambiguous and make decisions for the long haul.
After weeks of searching and sorting through half a dozen samples we settled on an undulated ceramic tile with a terracotta finish with a mocha colored grout. No only does this combination cover a multitude of sins, it instantly adds history, texture, personality and story to a space.
Cupboards & Counters
The cabinet & cupboard color was another decision that we labored over for at least a couple of weeks. The initial design plan called for a rich green, but after following my clients brilliant intuition, it felt too dark and moody.
Sherwin Williams Shiitake is the perfect neutral when paired with Leathered Black Pearl Granite a simple undulated tile in a pixelated format.
Since we weren’t technically expanding the kitchen cabinets we had to leverage all the available space we could. That meant pulling in a task sink from Kraus and creating thoughtful storage solutions for all the things in a kitchen that get utilized on the daily. Every appliance, tool, dish, pot and spice jar has it’s place.
Two of the hardest spaces to photograph were the powder bath and the laundry room. My approach in these kinds of spaces is one that believes a little really goes a long way. It’s okay to make a thoughtful combination of splurges and savings.
Splurge
Floating concrete sink w/this gorgeous green tile.
Save
The reconfigured laundry room needed a task sink for cleaning golf clubs, puppy bath time and gardening clean so a splurge here didn’t make sense. My client scored a stainless steel task sink and draped a vintage inspired skirt to hide utilities.
As with all projects, I learned a ton. But, this one felt different for me. Which is why I committed a blog post for it. I’m still figuring this thing out; what it means to create a home centered around life’s most important things. This project - the process, the clients, the approach - sent me searching in a lot of ways that are just now and/or have yet to materialize.
I’ve been searching for patterns the last year or so and projects like are narrowing the focus a bit. It feels like a good place to be.
