Kitchen of the Week: Old Farmhouse Inspiration and a New Layout
A custom island, a herringbone barn door and wicker pendants lend personality to this North Carolina kitchen
When these homeowners in North Raleigh, North Carolina, saw what design-build firm Clearcut Construction had done for their friends’ kitchen, they hired them to help with their own. The firm’s owner, Richard Ryder, came up with a functional layout, personalized storage solutions and a style that suited their tastes and their home’s architecture. The result is a family-friendly kitchen with a few intentional quirks that give it personality.
Before: While the aesthetics did not suit the family, they had another concern. “The layout was the biggest problem. There was a center island, and my clients’ biggest complaint was that the sink was on one side of it and the refrigerator was on the other,” Ryder says. A large number of cabinets crowded around three walls, making half of the roomy 350-square-foot space feel cramped. In addition, the dated style did not suit the family or the house.
After: The new layout still works around a center island, but now it plays the functional central role it should. Ryder located the sink, dishwasher and trash-recycle pullouts in a new island that spans 4 feet 2 inches by 8 feet. He moved the fridge and range to form an easy work triangle around it.
He removed a good portion of the wall on the right to open up the kitchen to the living room. This made the space more family friendly, as it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids from one room to the next. And now there’s an easy flow when they entertain.
Ryder was able to preserve the existing white oak floors and weave in matching pieces where needed.
Whitehaven apron-front sink and Artifacts pull-down kitchen faucet, both by Kohler
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He removed a good portion of the wall on the right to open up the kitchen to the living room. This made the space more family friendly, as it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids from one room to the next. And now there’s an easy flow when they entertain.
Ryder was able to preserve the existing white oak floors and weave in matching pieces where needed.
Whitehaven apron-front sink and Artifacts pull-down kitchen faucet, both by Kohler
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Ryder left enough room along the wall between the kitchen and living room to install a wine bar area. It also serves the adjacent dining room.
Wall color: Toque White, Sherwin-Williams
Wall color: Toque White, Sherwin-Williams
Before: At 350 square feet, the original kitchen had a generous amount of space. But all of the cabinets and appliances were shoved into a U shape at one end. This made it feel dark and oppressive. And there was a significant amount of wasted space between the end of the cabinets on the left and the laundry room door.
After: Ryder extended the cabinets all the way to the laundry room door. Installing a range rather than a stovetop and separate wall ovens freed up space in the kitchen. Ryder was able to create a wall that felt more open and airy here — instead of crowding all of the free space around the windows with upper cabinets, there are open shelves, a custom vent hood and just two upper cabinets with seeded glass doors. This also allowed for a large expanse of the subtly patterned porcelain tile the client liked on this wall.
This new range wall makes the room feel more airy and bright. And the seeded glass gives the cabinets a lighter look than solid doors would have.
Tile installers: Hero Tile
This new range wall makes the room feel more airy and bright. And the seeded glass gives the cabinets a lighter look than solid doors would have.
Tile installers: Hero Tile
When it came to style, Ryder decided to go with a loose interpretation of French country as his inspiration. As a jumping-off point, he envisioned a kitchen in an older European farmhouse that had been modernized and evolved over time.
“I thought of old farmhouses and their quirks — these kitchens often have random beams on the ceiling,” he says. The two dominant beams with cross-joints between them are a new addition that adds interest and a subtle hint of age to the ceiling.
One of the homeowners put a special personal touch over the island in the form of wicker pendants. While they are large, they add warmth without feeling excessive due to their light woven structure. And they add the quirk of an unexpected texture and shape to the room.
“I thought of old farmhouses and their quirks — these kitchens often have random beams on the ceiling,” he says. The two dominant beams with cross-joints between them are a new addition that adds interest and a subtle hint of age to the ceiling.
One of the homeowners put a special personal touch over the island in the form of wicker pendants. While they are large, they add warmth without feeling excessive due to their light woven structure. And they add the quirk of an unexpected texture and shape to the room.
Before: Here’s a better look at that wasted space next to the laundry room door.
After: While the laundry space is a future renovation project, Ryder gave the homeowners a kick-start by designing a new herringbone barn door. The gray paint color on the door, island and appliance garage is Hearthstone by Benjamin Moore.
More custom details include the white oak trim on the vent hood, Ryder used a special reactive wood stain that oxidizes wood, called Rusted by WeatherWash. “This stain changes the pigment of the material, which gives it an authentic weathered look,” he says. “It has more gray tones and more variation than other stains.”
Cabinets, island and barn door: Masterworks Custom Cabinets
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More custom details include the white oak trim on the vent hood, Ryder used a special reactive wood stain that oxidizes wood, called Rusted by WeatherWash. “This stain changes the pigment of the material, which gives it an authentic weathered look,” he says. “It has more gray tones and more variation than other stains.”
Cabinets, island and barn door: Masterworks Custom Cabinets
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Ryder used the same white oak and stain on the floating shelves. And the seats of the rustic counter stools add more wood to the room. Along with the ceiling beams, these elements add a sense of age to the room.
“I concentrated a lot on the island’s design,” Ryder says. “I knew it would be the centerpiece of the room, and it needed to be special. And I wanted it to have a furniture look.” The island measures a little over 4 by 8 feet.
Some of the special touches on the island include seating that wraps two sides, the accent color and two beautiful polished-nickel faucets. While the countertop is the same Calacatta Gold Eternal quartz as the perimeter cabinets, the ogee edge and 3-inch thickness make it stand out. (The perimeter countertops are standard — 3 centimeters thick.)
Browse counter stools in the Houzz shop
“I concentrated a lot on the island’s design,” Ryder says. “I knew it would be the centerpiece of the room, and it needed to be special. And I wanted it to have a furniture look.” The island measures a little over 4 by 8 feet.
Some of the special touches on the island include seating that wraps two sides, the accent color and two beautiful polished-nickel faucets. While the countertop is the same Calacatta Gold Eternal quartz as the perimeter cabinets, the ogee edge and 3-inch thickness make it stand out. (The perimeter countertops are standard — 3 centimeters thick.)
Browse counter stools in the Houzz shop
Ryder balanced the budget by choosing ready-made cabinets for most of the kitchen. But he snuck in a few special custom cabinets. This is a cost-effective way to get an overall custom look.
On this side of the island, there are three deep drawers on the left. But on the right, the sink, dishwasher and trash pullouts left just 12 inches of depth. So he created a false door front that matches the drawers with adjustable shelves behind it.
“The homeowners attend all sorts of work-related events and always come home with special cups they want to keep,” he says. “They needed space to store all of them, so this spot was perfect.”
Quartz countertops: Upon a Rock Granite and Marble
On this side of the island, there are three deep drawers on the left. But on the right, the sink, dishwasher and trash pullouts left just 12 inches of depth. So he created a false door front that matches the drawers with adjustable shelves behind it.
“The homeowners attend all sorts of work-related events and always come home with special cups they want to keep,” he says. “They needed space to store all of them, so this spot was perfect.”
Quartz countertops: Upon a Rock Granite and Marble
These countertop cabinets also have a surprise in store.
They camouflage an appliance garage. The space also includes electrical outlets for them.
In addition to the island and the barn door, these cabinets are painted in the gray accent color. The hardware on the gray cabinets is polished nickel, while the hardware on the white cabinets is white. In the mix, Ryder strongly recommended polished nickel for the faucets. This is because faucets are more expensive and permanent than the other items with metallic finishes. And he knows polished nickel goes with everything and is a classic that will never go out of style.
In addition to the island and the barn door, these cabinets are painted in the gray accent color. The hardware on the gray cabinets is polished nickel, while the hardware on the white cabinets is white. In the mix, Ryder strongly recommended polished nickel for the faucets. This is because faucets are more expensive and permanent than the other items with metallic finishes. And he knows polished nickel goes with everything and is a classic that will never go out of style.
The eat-in area offers lovely views outdoors. Ryder added a pair of five-paneled doors for the food pantry. These also lend a sense of age to the newer home. For continuity, he matched the baseboards in the room to the existing baseboards used throughout the house. He kept the trim as simple as he could and eschewed crown molding at the ceiling to put the focus on the beams.
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More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A young couple and their kids
Location: North Raleigh, North Carolina
Size: 350 square feet (32.5 square meters)
Designer and contractor: Richard Ryder of Clearcut Construction
The homeowners trusted the design in Ryder’s hands. “They didn’t give me a whole lot of direction and pretty much left it to me,” he says. He and his clients shared some Houzz photos for inspiration, and he looked to the home’s French country-inspired style. He was also armed with the knowledge that they liked the kitchen he’d designed and built for their friends and that they liked patterned tile. The result is a transitional style with modern farmhouse notes.
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