Kitchen Transformation
This charming little bungalow had already experienced its share of remodeling. Well, not so much structural. Although, many interior design transformations occurred over the decades. In the mix, the well-used and enjoyed kitchen was feeling a quite tired and dated.
We loved the color and organic character of the existing slate floors and opposing green-grey beams with spanning boards of a caramel stain. These were the two elements that went well together as though intentionally planned. Yet in between, the pale, peachy pickled oak cabinets with their radius detailing and red-rose/black matrix of the tiled granite countertops, didn’t seem to speak at all well with the ceiling treatment and slate floor’s greens, rusts and charcoal tones. It was a dark, confused space.
When observing and “listening to” the house, it was evident that the current kitchen, in addition to being poorly coordinated, had absolutely nothing to do with the original architectural intent. There was no cohesive thread running through the house. Over the years finishes and decorative elements had been selected and installed without any consideration for original materials or an attempt to introduce compatible and harmonious materials for the good of the home’s theme.
To begin the process of bringing this home into a cohesive design last year, we had redesigned the living room. There we introduced a classic blue and white color scheme derived from the Persian rug in the adjacent dining room.
To the corner kiva fireplace, we added a sandstone hearth and mantle with just enough blue and white Talavera tile trim at the base of the hearth to subtly coordinate with the new scheme. The Talavera was an appropriate material for this New Mexican bungalow.
With this living room having been so successfully re-designed, the obvious thought came into the discussion to continue the vernacular of the blue and white Talavera into the kitchen. As a bit of a purist when it comes to application and termination of materials, I was not content for a mere backsplash. No, if the tile were to be effective and commandeer the stage, it had to be used wall-to-wall as though an entire wall treatment.
The addition of an earthy aqua handmade tile from Spain offered an appealing and unexpected accent woven intermittently through the Talavera. It created a coordinating thread from the colors found in the mottled slate floors and ceiling beams.
The cabinets were in excellent condition, but the doors were sadly dated and in no way spoke to the home’s other cabinets, doors and finish carpentry. With the white raised panel theme throughout the home’s original appointments, we elected to salvage the cabinet boxes and replace the doors and drawer fronts with a similar raised panel detail. The same red oak was used and, with a glossy white paint applied, the grain “read-through” with a very intentional yet subtle moiré-like pattern. The new raised panel white doors and drawers, with crowning top molding provided a crisp, timeless motif. The random patterned Talavera used as an entire wall-covering was very effective. The kitchen was quite gussied-up!!
The existing slate floor was beautifully organic and I felt, from a design standpoint, was a must to salvage. Making it look like an intentional selection – part of the new scheme was imperative. Therefore, selecting a countertop that communed with the tones in the floor resulted in a concrete-like engineered Italian quartz material – balancing the floor with the next horizontal plane and ultimately with the stained and green-grey boards of the existing ceiling treatment.
Another asset was the connection to the outdoors, however the existing window over the sink was high and small. We had a new double-hung window made to close down onto the new countertop that passed through from inside to out. The contractor removed the bottom of the new window frame, thus rendering the warranty null and void in order to have a completely open, uninterrupted pass-through when raised.
We also captured the opportunity to open the opposing wall into the hallway adding pass-through light and dimension to the space. this exponentially expanded the space and made the encapsulated kitchen feel much less confined.
To add drama to the newly created dimension, we discussed having a painting commissioned to pop an accent of yellow into the blue and white scheme on the far hallway wall. Lemons, a perfect citrus for the kitchen, was decided for the theme.
The addition of the POP of yellow is a dramatically effective addition to the overall composition. After consideration, the owners selected a local artist, Thomas Tomlinson, to paint the full-scale painting.
In summary…keeping the original slate floor, existing cabinet boxes (replacing door and drawer-fronts only), with a bling of new polished chrome cabinet pulls, a new coordinating countertop and the decorative embellishment of the Talavera tile continued from the subtle introduction at the living room’s kiva fireplace, the transformation of the kitchen was stunning – not trendy – and was truly designed for the architecture and forward ,on-going contextual design conversation of the home.
For more on this project visit: https://patriciandesign.com/time-to-remodel-finding-a-theme/
