Timeless Kitchen Design - Part 1

Kitchen Design That Stands the Test of Time

Every Decade has it's trends - whether it is fashion, food, or fabric. While it is tempting to jump on the newest craze, when it comes to kitchen design, "just say NO".  Those trends will often run into the tens of thousands of dollars and in another 6-10 years negatively affect your home's resale value.

I will be doing several posts this month on classic kitchen design. Today's featured kitchen is the timeless white kitchen - it never goes out of style, especially when paired with natural stone, subway tile, and a little bit of texture.

Amy and Tom's Family Kitchen

This kitchen began as two rooms: an oddly proportioned kitchen and small dining room. The original rooms were dark, cramped, and dysfunctional. However, homeowners Amy and Tom had vision. They opened up the space to create a bright and inviting family kitchen. Some of their enduring design choices include white cabinets, natural stone countertops, and pale gray walls (Benjamin Moore's Nimbus, 1465).

The long island is the perfect place for three boys to eat breakfast and do their homework. No need to pull out cutting boards in this kitchen, thanks to the ample chopping block at the end of the island. Amy and Tom chose the wood and glass pendants to ensure that that the view and light would not be lost

Visual impact is created by the chalkboard wall at one end of the kitchen, where empty vintage frames hang ready to hold kid's art. A walk-in pantry hides behind the red pocket door (Benjamin Moore's Dragon's Blood). The rustic bar stools, reclaimed wood shelves and antique trunk over the refrigerator add both warmth and texture, balancing the cool white, gray and black palette.

Pocket doors are the perfect choice in tight spaces or in an area where more than one door come together.

The pocket door for Amy and Tom's walk-in pantry was originally the back door of the kitchen. While older doors are not necessarily energy efficient, they make charming interior doors.

Bringing light into the new kitchen was a priority - leading to the decision to dispense with upper wall cabinets in favor of shelves. In keeping with their other ageless choices, Amy and Tom selected Absolute Black, honed granite countertops to run along the back wall of the kitchen and topped the island with honed Danby marble as well as the maple chopping block.

Like cabinets and countertops, a backsplash often dates a kitchen. White subway tile is timeless and reasonably priced.

To give you an idea of just how far this kitchen has come, here are a few BEFORE pictures of this amazing project.

The little nook where the stove is tucked is now the walk-in pantry with the red door. The wall behind the refrigerator has morphed into the chalk board wall. And the tiny window over the stove... GONE!

This was the original dining room, which is now the end of the kitchen with the refrigerator. The arch looking into the living room was enlarged and centered.

Windows in both the original dining room and kitchen were expanded to bring in more light and balance.

A far cry from the original dark, dated kitchen, this timeless kitchen design will look great and function well for years to come!