Kitchen of the Week: White, Wood and Craftsman Style in Tennessee
Two designers use classic details, a large island and user-friendly storage to update a dysfunctional and dated space
After already renovating most of their home in Knoxville, Tennessee, to reflect more of a Craftsman style, including lots of Stickley furniture, this professional couple wanted their kitchen to fall in line too. They brought kitchen and cabinet designers Todd Thomas and Katie Pipkin of Sticks 2 Stones Design on board to replace the cherry cabinets and granite countertops and create a more user-friendly layout. To do so, Pipkin and Thomas incorporated space from an enclosed pantry, added a larger island and introduced well-placed Craftsman details to transform the kitchen without changing the basic footprint.
After: Pipkin removed the walls of the enclosed walk-in pantry and added a bank of cabinetry, significantly increasing the amount of storage in the kitchen.
The new custom maple cabinets with Craftsman-style crown molding include a mix of soft white paint in a brushed glaze finish for a worn, aged look on the refrigerator and range walls. “That created a really nice texture and older feel to go hand in hand with the Craftsman style,” Pipkin says.
Meanwhile, she used stained quartersawn white oak for the new island base and bar station to the left of the fridge. “They wanted to achieve an ornate Craftsman-style look, but not too traditional,” Thomas says. “She cooks, and this gives her great work space and a place to spread everything out. It’s the feather in the cap for this kitchen.”
Thomas designed the new cabinetry in a way that the homeowners didn’t have to refinish their existing red oak floors.
Custom cabinets: Kountry Kraft
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The new custom maple cabinets with Craftsman-style crown molding include a mix of soft white paint in a brushed glaze finish for a worn, aged look on the refrigerator and range walls. “That created a really nice texture and older feel to go hand in hand with the Craftsman style,” Pipkin says.
Meanwhile, she used stained quartersawn white oak for the new island base and bar station to the left of the fridge. “They wanted to achieve an ornate Craftsman-style look, but not too traditional,” Thomas says. “She cooks, and this gives her great work space and a place to spread everything out. It’s the feather in the cap for this kitchen.”
Thomas designed the new cabinetry in a way that the homeowners didn’t have to refinish their existing red oak floors.
Custom cabinets: Kountry Kraft
Shop for kitchen island lighting
This side of the island, which faces an adjoining dining area, includes open cubbies for wine and a combination of drawers and doors for table linens and other entertainment supplies. The island also features furniture leg-style details that mimic furniture the homeowners have in their living room.
All the countertops are black leathered granite. “They both have a love for natural stone and wanted to go with that,” Pipkin says of the homeowners’ countertop choice. “Also, a lot of Craftsman kitchens have dark stone, so it was a great selection.”
Three handmade pendant lights with a rich mahogany color hang above the island.
Staccato kitchen pendants: Hubbardton Forge
All the countertops are black leathered granite. “They both have a love for natural stone and wanted to go with that,” Pipkin says of the homeowners’ countertop choice. “Also, a lot of Craftsman kitchens have dark stone, so it was a great selection.”
Three handmade pendant lights with a rich mahogany color hang above the island.
Staccato kitchen pendants: Hubbardton Forge
Before: In the previous kitchen, upper cabinets hung low to the countertop, making the area surrounding the existing drop-in cooktop and overhead microwave feel crowded.
After: New upper cabinets leave plenty of clearance for work at the counters. A combination of long drawers to the left of the range and deep drawers on the right give the homeowners easy-access storage in this cooking zone.
This front view of the cooking area shows the range, double wall ovens and the two deep drawers that hold pots and pans by the range. “Because this is the South, you know cast iron pans are in there too,” Thomas says.
This view also highlights the Caribbean Green marble mosaic backsplash that includes a focal point design above the range. Green was a common color used for tile in Craftsman homes. “The green marble was something that would allow us to stick with the Craftsman style but give a little elegance,” Pipkin says.
Venetian Bronze knobs and pulls, Craftsman Collection: Atlas Homewares
This view also highlights the Caribbean Green marble mosaic backsplash that includes a focal point design above the range. Green was a common color used for tile in Craftsman homes. “The green marble was something that would allow us to stick with the Craftsman style but give a little elegance,” Pipkin says.
Venetian Bronze knobs and pulls, Craftsman Collection: Atlas Homewares
The bar station features seeded leaded glass on the upper cabinets for displaying the couple’s fine glassware and china. The middle upper cabinet includes a Craftsman crown that helps tie the bar area into the rest of the updated cabinets. The new wine refrigerator includes a framed glass door. “There was no ‘wow’ factor in the old bar,” Thomas says. “It’s a night-and-day difference.”
The white door seen to the left of the bar area leads to the garage, while the white door on the right leads to the laundry room.
The white door seen to the left of the bar area leads to the garage, while the white door on the right leads to the laundry room.
After: The homeowners incorporated their existing stainless steel French door refrigerator into the updated design.
The countertop to the right of the fridge is a designated baking area. Seeded leaded glass portions on two upper cabinet fronts feature lights inside that illuminate collectibles.
The large cabinet on the right is the pantry.
The countertop to the right of the fridge is a designated baking area. Seeded leaded glass portions on two upper cabinet fronts feature lights inside that illuminate collectibles.
The large cabinet on the right is the pantry.
The pantry features roll-out shelves that make it easy to find specific dry goods and other items.
A lower cabinet in the baking area includes a lift-up standing mixer. Across from that is a tiered spice drawer. “This homeowner literally planned every door and every drawer,” Thomas says. “She knew where everything was going to go before she put it in there.”
A custom hammered copper farmhouse sink in the island blends with the stained quartersawn white oak and coordinates with a hammered copper range hood.
The sink includes a sliding prep station and features views of the backyard. “There’s awesome natural light in this kitchen,” Thomas says.
Sink and range hood: Rachiele Custom Sinks; faucet: Moen
Sink and range hood: Rachiele Custom Sinks; faucet: Moen
A paneled trash pullout sits to the left of the sink.
A stainless steel dishwasher sits to the right of the sink. This view also shows the adjoining dining area with vaulted ceiling.
“This renovation updated the space tremendously and made it more functional for how the homeowners live their daily lives,” Thomas says.
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“This renovation updated the space tremendously and made it more functional for how the homeowners live their daily lives,” Thomas says.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Size: 365 square feet (34 square meters)
Designers: Todd Thomas and Katie Pipkin at Sticks 2 Stones Design
Before: The couple disliked the existing cherry cabinets, the Venetian Gold granite countertops and the two-tiered island, which felt too small for the size of the room.
They also felt that the refrigerator and enclosed pantry (behind the white double doors in this photo) sat isolated from the main work areas.
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