Kitchen of the Week: A Bold Recipe of Blue, White, Brass and Wood
An antique butcher block island, contemporary tile and gleaming finishes highlight a 1948 Denver home’s cooking space
After
Scope of work: The basic footprint of the kitchen stayed the same, but the flooring, countertops and backsplash were ripped out and replaced. The cabinet boxes remained, but Toney installed new doors and drawer fronts. The cost of the makeover was $35,000 (not including appliances).
Scope of work: The basic footprint of the kitchen stayed the same, but the flooring, countertops and backsplash were ripped out and replaced. The cabinet boxes remained, but Toney installed new doors and drawer fronts. The cost of the makeover was $35,000 (not including appliances).
Style: “We wanted to accomplish a very transitional look,” Toney says. “The backsplash tile is very contemporary, the island is an antique, the finishes are a brilliant bronze look, and then we mixed modern subway tile with it. It creates a nice straddling of the lines.”
Island: The homeowner found the 18th-century French butcher block online.
See more ideas for compact islands | Shop for kitchen islands and carts
Island: The homeowner found the 18th-century French butcher block online.
See more ideas for compact islands | Shop for kitchen islands and carts
Cabinets: Toney created new cabinetry to house the homeowner’s new Sub-Zero fridge, and she put new doors and drawer fronts on the existing cabinets. She installed soft-close drawer glides and hinges.
Paint: Hale Navy (lower cabinets) and White Dove (cabinet wall), Benjamin Moore; cabinet pulls: Berenson; drawer pulls: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.
Paint: Hale Navy (lower cabinets) and White Dove (cabinet wall), Benjamin Moore; cabinet pulls: Berenson; drawer pulls: Schoolhouse Electric & Supply Co.
Countertops: The old countertops provided a “big surprise,” Toney says. What looked like solid granite was really a granite veneer. Removing it “almost destroyed the cabinet boxes we were planning to use in the resurfacing project,” she says. “But thank goodness they were salvageable.” The new countertops are Q quartz in Arctic White.
Flooring: Toney ripped out the existing 12-by-12-inch ceramic tile and replaced it with 12-by-24-inch rectangular porcelain tile in mottled gray from Arizona Tile.
Open shelves: The client made the shelves using salvaged wood from Barns 2 Home that she cut, sanded and finished to echo the look of the antique butcher block island.
Backsplash: A retro-patterned porcelain tile adds whimsy.
Backsplash tile: Cementine Black and White 1, Arizona Tile
Backsplash tile: Cementine Black and White 1, Arizona Tile
Lighting: Toney’s firm did some electrical work, installing can lighting in the ceiling and adding a chandelier over the island.
Chandelier: Luna one-light in bronze and gold, Crystorama
Find out how to choose the right pendant lights for your island | Shop for kitchen lighting
Chandelier: Luna one-light in bronze and gold, Crystorama
Find out how to choose the right pendant lights for your island | Shop for kitchen lighting
Faucet and sink: The pullout spray faucet in a satin bronze finish is by Delta. The sink is Kohler’s Cape Dory single-bowl model.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two dogs
Location: Denver
Size: 168 square feet (15.6 square meters)
Designer: Debra Toney of Three Week Kitchens
Before
The backstory: The owners of a 1948 home in Denver were open to taking risks and welcoming new ideas for their dated kitchen, says designer Debra Toney. “[They] had been living in it for a while but didn’t have the budget for an all-new kitchen,” she says. “We started with, ‘Let’s replace the countertops,’ and we moved on from there.”