Sassafras and Copper Warm This Tennessee Kitchen
Cabinets made from a local wood plus a copper backsplash make for a modern but earthy kitchen
The homeowners settled on sassafras, a local timber, as the wood species to feature in their kitchen, and had some lumber samples sawed at the mill. Some of the samples came out with dark streaks that typically would be considered flaws in the wood. But Ritter and the Houselys saw these marks as a bonus. “We decided we had to show what is a flaw in the lumber but is such a beautiful aspect in the material,” Ritter says.
He placed the dark-streaked pieces in locations where they would be on prominent display, like the back of the island. The homeowners didn’t want the dark spots spread all over the kitchen, though, which would have made it look “like a dairy cow,” Ritter says, so he used some of the dark-streaked panels on the cabinet doors and concentrated the wood with the heaviest streaking on the island.
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He placed the dark-streaked pieces in locations where they would be on prominent display, like the back of the island. The homeowners didn’t want the dark spots spread all over the kitchen, though, which would have made it look “like a dairy cow,” Ritter says, so he used some of the dark-streaked panels on the cabinet doors and concentrated the wood with the heaviest streaking on the island.
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“I look at this kitchen and think it feels very modern — but an earthy modern,” Ritter says. “There’s so much wood in this house, but no crown moldings, and a lot of sharp angles and not a lot of detail. The sassafras warms it up a lot.”
The kitchen layout is a simple L shape with a kitchen island that doubles as a breakfast bar. “In many cases in a small kitchen like this the space sort of lays itself out,” Ritter says. The homeowners wanted the sink over the window (see first photo), and the dishwasher naturally went next to it. That left space on the other wall for the refrigerator and stove.
The kitchen layout is a simple L shape with a kitchen island that doubles as a breakfast bar. “In many cases in a small kitchen like this the space sort of lays itself out,” Ritter says. The homeowners wanted the sink over the window (see first photo), and the dishwasher naturally went next to it. That left space on the other wall for the refrigerator and stove.
The cabinets are Shaker style. The backsplash behind the range top is copper, which the homeowners want to age over time. In fact, before the backsplash was installed, they used a baking soda solution to intentionally patinate the copper. They plan to maintain the backsplash by oiling it. The floors are white oak, and the countertops for both the perimeter and the island are quartz.
Ritter made the corner floating shelves from sassafras. The cabinet pulls have an antique brass finish, and the sink faucet is oil-rubbed bronze.
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Ritter made the corner floating shelves from sassafras. The cabinet pulls have an antique brass finish, and the sink faucet is oil-rubbed bronze.
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This corner cabinet has two kidney-shaped Häfele LeMans shelf organizers that swivel out for easy access to pots and pans.
To the right of the dishwasher is a pantry with 9-foot-tall cabinets. The upper half contains adjustable shelves; the lower half, rollouts.
All the perimeter cabinetry is finished at the bottom with a black toe kick, a hallmark of Ritter’s cabinet designs. The black toe kicks recede and make the cabinets look as though they have short furniture legs. “I was originally a furniture maker,” Ritter says. “I wanted these cabinets to look more like furniture.”
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All the perimeter cabinetry is finished at the bottom with a black toe kick, a hallmark of Ritter’s cabinet designs. The black toe kicks recede and make the cabinets look as though they have short furniture legs. “I was originally a furniture maker,” Ritter says. “I wanted these cabinets to look more like furniture.”
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Find a kitchen designer near you
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at Glance
Who lives here: Cooper Housely of HH Ventures Construction; his wife, Suzie; and their two kids
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters)
Location: Fairview, Tennessee
Designer: Kevin Ritter of Timeless Kitchen Cabinetry
General contractor Cooper Housely and his wife, Suzie, hired cabinetmaker Kevin Ritter to help design this kitchen in their newly built home in Tennessee. “They wanted a really simple, clean design,” Ritter says. “They had partnered with a local sawmill for much of the lumber for this home.”
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