Black and Brass Amp Up a White Kitchen

Wire barstools, a graphic tile backsplash and wood shelves add texture to the reconfigured modern space

Jennifer Blaise Kramer July 21, 2017

Houzz Contributor. Lifestyle Writer + Editor. www.jenniferblaisekramer.com

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Hope Pinc Design

Photos by Mindy Nicole

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two young girls
Location: Carlsbad, California
Size: 315 square feet (29 square meters)
Designer: Hope Pinc of Hope Pinc Design

The backstory: The clients started with a white kitchen and dark granite that they felt produced a bland style. To update the kitchen with a breezier look, designer Hope Pinc brought in brighter white cabinets, wall paint and quartz countertops. Layering in black accents and bohemian rugs gave contrast and texture.

“We wanted the space to have an overall effortless feel, with lighter materials and eclectic elements throughout,” Pinc says.

Paint: Origami White, Sherwin-Williams; cabinetry: Dixieland; table and bench: West Elm; rug: Loloi

Before Photo

Room of the Day: Tile and brass amp up an all-white kitchen

Before: Previously, all the appliances were jammed together on the back wall, inhibiting workflow.

Hope Pinc Design

After: Pinc shifted the stove and refrigerator to offer more workspace, function and flow. She replaced the dark granite island top with white quartz, while new cabinets got a hit of brass hardware (a trend we noticed recently). Pinc swapped the old tiled floors for washed Platinum Oak hardwood, and layered more rugs for comfort and an “unexpected element,” she says.

Quartz countertops: Arizona Tile; floors: Artistry Hardwood; Mod Hex pull and knobs in brass finish, Emtek; range and hood: Thermador

Hope Pinc Design

Gray contrast: To offset the white, Pinc chose a cool, custom gray paint for the island, which she increased in size for more workspace, storage and seating. Brass wire barstools echo the hardware.

Barstools: CB2

Hope Pinc Design

Graphic backsplash: Pinc used graphic cement tile on the backsplash to play off the black and white in the room, which she felt created both contrast and cohesiveness. “It really added a fun hypnotic rhythm to the space, creating a bold feature but very quietly because we used it sparingly,” she says.

Tile: Clé

Hope Pinc Design

Shelfie station: “Since we reworked and replaced all of the cabinetry, my clients had a lot of additional storage space, allowing us to incorporate open shelving into the design,” Pinc says. “It’s the perfect way to showcase prized objects, nice-looking everyday kitchenware, cookbooks, vases, small potted plants — the sky’s the limit.”

Hope Pinc Design

Graphic fireplace surround: To continue the subtle black-and-white graphics in the kitchen, the designer found a VOC-free “slant stitch” ceramic tile for the opposing fireplace wall. Its wallpaper look lends a “bold and modern, yet subtle and soft” feel that completes the boho-chic feel of this open space.

Tile: Erin Adams

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