Kitchen of the Week: A Timeless Look for a Tudor-Style Home
A new layout, easy-to-clean surfaces and smart storage serve a busy family well in a century-old Missouri home
This Tudor-style home in St. Louis’ Richmond Heights suburb is over 100 years old, but the kitchen was pure 1980s — and it wasn’t working for the busy family of four that lives here. Interior designer Karen Korn created a functional layout that includes an island that serves as a kitchen table, a clever row of cabinetry that holds school and sports gear, and a mix of finishes and textures that makes the room special.
After: It was important to the family that the kitchen serve as a high-functioning hub. “This family is bustling — the kids are involved in all sorts of activities and sports and needed a good landing zone for bags and sports equipment,” Korn says.
The entry they often use from the garage is off the left side of the kitchen, and the glass doors seen here lead to the pool. Korn designed the adjacent row of white cabinets to serve as lockers, taking into account the sizes of lacrosse sticks, baseball bats, backpacks and beach towels. “We used every centimeter we could in here,” she says.
The footprint of the room stayed the same but the changes to the layout were dramatic. “We didn’t have room for a breakfast table in here so my clients wanted very comfortable counter stools. The island serves as their kitchen table,” Korn says. It also contains a microwave drawer on the work side.
Tip: Create seating on two sides of an island to facilitate conversation during meals.
Browse counter stools with high backs and padded seats
The entry they often use from the garage is off the left side of the kitchen, and the glass doors seen here lead to the pool. Korn designed the adjacent row of white cabinets to serve as lockers, taking into account the sizes of lacrosse sticks, baseball bats, backpacks and beach towels. “We used every centimeter we could in here,” she says.
The footprint of the room stayed the same but the changes to the layout were dramatic. “We didn’t have room for a breakfast table in here so my clients wanted very comfortable counter stools. The island serves as their kitchen table,” Korn says. It also contains a microwave drawer on the work side.
Tip: Create seating on two sides of an island to facilitate conversation during meals.
Browse counter stools with high backs and padded seats
After: To the left of the glass cabinets is the hallway leading to the garage. Korn hung hooks for coats and bags and placed a bench underneath so family members can sit and take off their shoes and snowy boots, then stash them underneath the bench before entering the kitchen.
The new style of the room is timeless and suits the home’s age. “My clients had slate floors in several of their homes in the past and they love them,” Korn says. These slate tiles are 16 by 16 inches and their colors inspired the palette of the room. White cabinets provide contrast while cherry wood on the pantry cabinets on the right and accents in Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy pick up on colors in the slate. The navy paint appears on the island base, the vent hood and inside the glass-front cabinets. The warm tan on the walls was also inspired by the slate.
Korn designed the cherry cabinetry to look like a piece that was original to the house. “Because the house is over 100 years old, I wanted this piece to look as though it had always been there,” she says. “And there are other cherry elements around the house, including antiques.” These cabinets serve as the family’s pantry and have shallow shelves mounted inside the doors for canned goods and pasta boxes, as well as pullout shelves along the bottom.
“A lot of times kitchens with one finish on the cabinetry all start to look the same or get dated,” Korn says. “Mixing three or four different finishes was the key to making this kitchen stand out as unique and special while communicating who my clients are.”
Wall color: Kilim Beige, Sherwin-Williams
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The new style of the room is timeless and suits the home’s age. “My clients had slate floors in several of their homes in the past and they love them,” Korn says. These slate tiles are 16 by 16 inches and their colors inspired the palette of the room. White cabinets provide contrast while cherry wood on the pantry cabinets on the right and accents in Benjamin Moore’s Hale Navy pick up on colors in the slate. The navy paint appears on the island base, the vent hood and inside the glass-front cabinets. The warm tan on the walls was also inspired by the slate.
Korn designed the cherry cabinetry to look like a piece that was original to the house. “Because the house is over 100 years old, I wanted this piece to look as though it had always been there,” she says. “And there are other cherry elements around the house, including antiques.” These cabinets serve as the family’s pantry and have shallow shelves mounted inside the doors for canned goods and pasta boxes, as well as pullout shelves along the bottom.
“A lot of times kitchens with one finish on the cabinetry all start to look the same or get dated,” Korn says. “Mixing three or four different finishes was the key to making this kitchen stand out as unique and special while communicating who my clients are.”
Wall color: Kilim Beige, Sherwin-Williams
Hire a cabinet pro
Classic Shaker-style cabinetry, traditional antiqued brass hardware, marble-like quartz countertops and corbels beneath the glass-front cabinets also suit the home. On the right is a closer look at the deep backpack drawers on the sports-gear cabinetry. And the glass-front cabinets add the Hale Navy paint to this part of the room, creating a relationship between this area, the island and the range.
The drawer beneath the bowl of apples is refrigerated, making it easy for family members to grab beverages when they get home or when they’re headed out to the pool.
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The drawer beneath the bowl of apples is refrigerated, making it easy for family members to grab beverages when they get home or when they’re headed out to the pool.
Shop for traditional hardware
The new custom wood vent hood is in a much safer spot now. “It was also important to my clients that the kitchen be easy to clean,” Korn says. They preferred extending the quartz slabs up the backsplash so there wouldn’t be any grout. And they opted for an induction range because it has a glass top that’s a cinch to wipe down. They also wanted a large sink for easy cleanups.
The fridge, just out of view to the left, is a panel-front Sub-Zero that blends right in with the white cabinetry. The placement of the island in relation to the sink, range and fridge makes prep work and cooking easy.
“It’s important to mix task lighting and lighting that creates ambiance,” Korn says. This kitchen includes canned lights in the ceilings on dimmers, LED undercabinet lighting and two globe pendants over the island that have an antique look.
Takeaways:
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The fridge, just out of view to the left, is a panel-front Sub-Zero that blends right in with the white cabinetry. The placement of the island in relation to the sink, range and fridge makes prep work and cooking easy.
“It’s important to mix task lighting and lighting that creates ambiance,” Korn says. This kitchen includes canned lights in the ceilings on dimmers, LED undercabinet lighting and two globe pendants over the island that have an antique look.
Takeaways:
- If the island will serve as the kitchen table, make sure counter seating is comfortable.
- Finding flooring you like first and plucking colors from it is a good way to land on a kitchen color palette.
- Don’t fear mixing cabinetry finishes. The mix of white, cherry and navy makes this kitchen special.
- Use a mix of task lighting and ambient lighting in a kitchen. Placing recessed lights on dimmers will allow you to create different moods.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who uses it: A family of four
Location: Richmond Heights, Missouri
Size: 228 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Karen Korn of Karen Korn Interiors
Contractor: Higginbotham Bros.
Before: “The kitchen had a very ’80s vibe, and the layout made no sense,” Korn says. “The vent hood was in the middle of the room, and not only was it ugly, it was a hazard for this tall family.”
Both of the homeowners like to cook. “This is a very busy family so they wanted the room to be easy to clean,” Korn says. Also on the wish list was an island with comfortable seating, a slate floor, some classic blue and a big sink.
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