New This Week: 3 Rustic-Inspired Kitchens

Wood and natural stone give these modern kitchens a look of the past

Mitchell Parker November 1, 2019

Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.

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What do we talk about when we talk about rustic-inspired style? The emphasis is on “inspired.” This style honors what homes might have looked like in the pioneer days, but with tweaks and updates for convenience and design appeal. Natural stone countertops and tile and wood everything — floors, cabinets, beams and ceilings — hark back to a rough-country or mountain look, while the latest appliances and material fabrication techniques bring it all into a modern way of life.

Conrad Brothers Construction

1. Rough and Refined

Designers: Jarvis Group (architecture) and LoneStar Design Build (interior design)
Builder: Paul Conrad of Conrad Brothers Construction
Location: Ketchum, Idaho
Size: 392 square feet (36 square meters); 14 by 28 feet

Homeowners’ request. A new-construction home that would look 100 years old and include period-appropriate finishes and fixtures.

Rustic style. Reclaimed oak in a “dead flat” finish, builder Paul Conrad says. “Wire mesh fronts on some of the uppers along with antique hinges on the refrigerator give [the kitchen] an antique look and feel.”

Other special features. Leathered Pompignan limestone countertops with bronze inlay strips. Custom hand-scraped hardwood flooring. Reclaimed-barn-wood ceilings and timbers. “Canister lights on the sides of the beams provide a great lighting detail,” Conrad says.

“Uh-oh” moment. “Installing the bronze inlays in the countertops was no easy task,” Conrad says. “The texture had to be just right, with a pitted surface and slightly rounded top and that was a challenge to make.”

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2. Stately and Stylish

Designers: Elaine Keiser Architect and Dawn Whyte of Petoskey Kitchen and Bath - Designs By Dawn
Location: Mullett Lake, Michigan
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters); 10 by 15 feet

Homeowners’ request. A kitchen designed around a lake view, that could handle the occasional large gathering and would include the latest high-end appliances.

Rustic style. “The inspiration all along was for a more refined rustic style,” designer Dawn Whyte says. “The kitchen has a very unique door style on cherrywood with diamond clavos-style [decorative nail] pegs that create a one-of-a-kind craftsman detail, complemented by an exotic granite for the countertops and a custom-forged bronze-and-brass vent hood. The custom cabinet panels were also milled to conceal the soffit detail in the kitchen, further adding to the interior architectural detail.”

Other special features. “Custom stained glass in the cabinet inserts on the end of the island and in the wall cabinets tells a story of a roaring brook, birch trees in the forest and a beautiful lakeside home,” Whyte says. “The stained glass artisans incorporated organic material like Petoskey stone fossils and puddingstones. We complemented this detail with a dimensional Ann Sacks glass tile backsplash.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “The post and beam detail surrounding the range top and hood are a very integral structural part of this home design. They bear most of the weight from the entire second story,” Whyte says. “Moving them was not an option, and yet they are large enough that they take up a lot of space in the kitchen.

“Reducing the amount of cabinet storage was challenge No. 1, but secondly, the large top beam being so thick really reduced the height and impact of the kitchen design. Working with the design team, we were able to engineer an arch detail in the beam over the hood. We then found a route to vent the exhaust hood around the beam and all the utilities. Arching the tops of the wall cabinets on either side of the hood really was a wow factor in the kitchen design and super exciting when it all came together.”

Cabinets: Ayr Custom Cabinetry

Stone Connection Granite Interiors Inc

3. Neat and Natural

Designer: Dina Gunn of August Interiors
Location: Hendersonville, North Carolina
Size: 200 square feet (19 square meters); 19½ by 10 feet

Homeowners’ request. A warm and inviting kitchen with a professional range and a touch of Arts and Crafts style, and that would reflect the mountain views out the window.

Rustic style. “It was important to me to reflect the mountain vernacular location of the home in the space,” designer Dina Gunn says. “My first inspiration was designing the island to look more reflective of a craftsman furniture piece than a typical kitchen island but still being a workhorse. I selected maple for the island with a black hand-rubbed finish to play off the white-oak-with-a-brown-glaze perimeter cabinets. I then raised the upper stove cabinets higher than the rest of the cabinets, again creating more of a furniture feel with an oversized crown mold treatment to elevate it even more and to frame the slate tile backsplash.

“Finishing off the space is a hammered double-bowl copper sink, hammered black iron hardware, copper pendants and leather-studded stools to keep every element in the space very organic and textural,” Gunn says. The island countertop is light polished granite, and the perimeter countertop is steel gray leathered granite.

Designer tip. “Think outside the standard kitchen cabinet box,” Gunn says. “Use the ability of custom cabinetry to work in your favor, and explore more furniture-like design and lines in your cabinetry. Vary upper cabinet heights. Mixing woods and finishes often does not increase price point but [can] create a personalized, custom space that stands the test of time.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “Finding a backsplash tile worthy of the space took several walks around the tile showroom,” Gunn says. “I knew I wanted a natural stone, not a porcelain tile, but all the natural stone tile we looked at seemed off. Then there was a tile board stacked way in the back — that was it. This is the high that designers live for. We found a slate backsplash tile in the perfect colorway with all the color variation and texture that natural slate has. And then [we elevated] it even more as a design element, creating a feature at the range in a herringbone pattern with a slate chair rail installed with the most minimal gray grout line.”

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