Kitchen Design
New Materials Channel Raw, Organic Style in an Asheville Kitchen
A renovated kitchen in a former North Carolina barn-style shed embraces a natural look while using the latest materials
Any addition probably makes sense to the homeowner at the time it’s implemented. But when a house goes through multiple homeowners and multiple additions, sometimes the thread gets lost along the way and you end up with a collection of confusing rooms and hallways.
That was once the case for this home in Asheville, North Carolina, which was originally built as a barn-type shed in the 1960s and was added on to continuously over the years. “There were weird bump-outs that didn’t make sense and were poorly constructed,” says designer Shawn Merkel.
To update the home for its new owners and their three small kids, Merkel took out every interior wall and bump-out to bring the structure back to its barn-like form. “At one point during construction you could have driven equipment through all the way from front to back. There were just side walls,” she says. “We started putting it back together from there.”
That was once the case for this home in Asheville, North Carolina, which was originally built as a barn-type shed in the 1960s and was added on to continuously over the years. “There were weird bump-outs that didn’t make sense and were poorly constructed,” says designer Shawn Merkel.
To update the home for its new owners and their three small kids, Merkel took out every interior wall and bump-out to bring the structure back to its barn-like form. “At one point during construction you could have driven equipment through all the way from front to back. There were just side walls,” she says. “We started putting it back together from there.”
After: Merkel took the home down to the studs and redid a lot of structural work. She added 10 feet to the front of the home to expand the living and dining areas and to get a larger kitchen. (A dining table now sits beneath the ceiling light but hadn’t arrived in time for this photo shoot.)
The new kitchen sits along the same back wall as the original but now enjoys a more open connection with the rest of the living spaces.
Merkel went through photos that the homeowners had added to a Houzz ideabook and noticed a lot of natural materials and a style that leaned Scandinavian. “Minimalist but not stark or super modern,” she says. “There was some vibrancy.”
She interpreted this through new materials that feature a natural look, such as a more modern slab-style door front using light hickory, new steel beams with an oil finish to make them look weathered and organic lines like the transition between wood flooring and tile.
How to Create and Use Houzz Ideabooks
The new kitchen sits along the same back wall as the original but now enjoys a more open connection with the rest of the living spaces.
Merkel went through photos that the homeowners had added to a Houzz ideabook and noticed a lot of natural materials and a style that leaned Scandinavian. “Minimalist but not stark or super modern,” she says. “There was some vibrancy.”
She interpreted this through new materials that feature a natural look, such as a more modern slab-style door front using light hickory, new steel beams with an oil finish to make them look weathered and organic lines like the transition between wood flooring and tile.
How to Create and Use Houzz Ideabooks
Before: The original kitchen embodied the word basic.
After: A graphic black-and-white tile backsplash added that vibrancy Merkel was searching for. The patterned hex-tile floor gives the area something unexpected, as do the bicycle bar stools. (No, you can’t pedal them, but the kids love them anyway.)
See how to add a kitchen backsplash | Browse kitchen tile options
See how to add a kitchen backsplash | Browse kitchen tile options
Merkel decided to confine the backsplash to just the range area so as not to “muck up the window area and take away from the view,” she says.
A new countertop color from Caesarstone called Rugged Concrete keeps with Merkel’s approach of finding new, durable materials that have a natural look and feel.
A new countertop color from Caesarstone called Rugged Concrete keeps with Merkel’s approach of finding new, durable materials that have a natural look and feel.
A small leftover area under the stairs with weird angles gave Merkel a bit of a challenge. “I hate to waste space,” she says. Knowing the small kids like to hang out in the kitchen to read, do homework and make lots of crafts, she worked with an artist friend to add a seat and storage shelves. “I call it a little Harry Potter nook,” Merkel says.
A tea station stands near a sliding barn door that leads to a mudroom and powder room.
More
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Other Resources on Houzz
Find a kitchen designer
Get kitchen design ideas
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More
Working the Room: What’s Popular in Kitchens Now
Before and After: 6 Kitchen Makeovers Under 200 Square Feet
Other Resources on Houzz
Find a kitchen designer
Get kitchen design ideas
Browse kitchen products
Who lives here: A couple and their three small kids
Location: West Asheville, North Carolina
Size: 225 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Shawn Merkel of Align Design
Before: One of the main focuses of the full-house renovation was creating a more open and inviting kitchen on the main floor. Originally, the floor, shown here, included a living room that led to a series of corridors and rooms that zig-zagged under the staircase. The original kitchen was located on the very back wall of the home, around several corners and through multiple doorways.