Kitchen of the Week: Country Warmth for a Couple of Collectors
An expanded kitchen in New York borrows space from the garage to display vintage finds
Before. The existing galley kitchen did not have enough room for more than one person to work, no room to gather and not enough storage. It was pretty closed off from the rest of the house. And there was not enough room to show off favorite collections. Also, the electric work was outdated.
After. By borrowing space from the garage, the footprint expanded from 13 by 10 feet to 13 by 17 feet. The old kitchen used to end just to the left of the pantry door — all the space from that line over to the right was claimed from the garage (the new portion is 7 feet wide). Potapchuk also removed a wall to open the kitchen to the den and the dining room.
Style. The kitchen has a warm country farmhouse look.
Hutch. In addition to planning the footprint around a center island, the homeowners also wanted to make room for their beloved hutch, which displays many of their collections.
Other special finds. The homeowners found the vintage pantry door in Brooklyn and Potapchuk built the pantry around it. Textured glass obscures the view inside the pantry from the kitchen for an uncluttered look. They also found the shelf with the iron brackets to the right of the door — it’s another place where they can display their favorite things, such as a “Rise and Shine” rooster tray atop to bring good luck to the kitchen. They picked up on the shelf’s wrought iron brackets with the scroll over the pantry door.
Browse more iron brackets for shelves
Style. The kitchen has a warm country farmhouse look.
Hutch. In addition to planning the footprint around a center island, the homeowners also wanted to make room for their beloved hutch, which displays many of their collections.
Other special finds. The homeowners found the vintage pantry door in Brooklyn and Potapchuk built the pantry around it. Textured glass obscures the view inside the pantry from the kitchen for an uncluttered look. They also found the shelf with the iron brackets to the right of the door — it’s another place where they can display their favorite things, such as a “Rise and Shine” rooster tray atop to bring good luck to the kitchen. They picked up on the shelf’s wrought iron brackets with the scroll over the pantry door.
Browse more iron brackets for shelves
Island. The new island is 6½ feet long and has room for everyone in the family to pull up a comfy stool. Note the way the legs create the overhang for the fourth seat around the side. The features hiding inside include a pull-out trash bin, a microwave drawer and deep drawers that accommodate pots, pans and bigger items like the blender. “We placed the island so one person can prep there while the other works at the stove,” Potapchuk says.
Flooring. The new flooring anchors the room with warmth. It is an engineered hardwood and extends into the den.
Flooring. The new flooring anchors the room with warmth. It is an engineered hardwood and extends into the den.
Brick walls. Potapchuk found a company that cuts the faces off reclaimed bricks to create three-quarter-inch veneers.
He chose a mix of veneers from old Chicago and New York bricks and created arches over the windows in the same fashion as the ones his client had loved on Houzz.
Countertops. The homeowners chose Negresco granite with a honed finish. It is black with faint white veining and resembles farmhouse soapstone, but it is more durable.
Pro Tips: Yes, You Can Use Brick in the Kitchen
He chose a mix of veneers from old Chicago and New York bricks and created arches over the windows in the same fashion as the ones his client had loved on Houzz.
Countertops. The homeowners chose Negresco granite with a honed finish. It is black with faint white veining and resembles farmhouse soapstone, but it is more durable.
Pro Tips: Yes, You Can Use Brick in the Kitchen
Range area. The homeowners wanted to carry over the wood from the hutch to this side of the kitchen and create another place for display. Potapchuk had a custom range mantel made and stained to match the hutch. It also has lights incorporated into it to illuminate the stovetop.
Cabinets. The cabinets are cream-colored with a glaze that gives them an antiqued look. The hardware is oil-rubbed bronze; bin pulls and simple round knobs lend that country farmhouse look. Note the stacked molding detail at the top. This extends the look of the cabinets all the way to the ceiling and prevents dust from accumulating on top of them. Potapchuk used a combination of crown molding, scribe molding and a 1-by-6-inch piece of molding.
Cabinetry: in Chamomile color with glaze by Lauriermax; check out more oil-rubbed bronze hardware
Cabinetry: in Chamomile color with glaze by Lauriermax; check out more oil-rubbed bronze hardware
Texture. In addition to the glazed cabinets, wood details and reclaimed brick, the walls around the new portion of the kitchen are covered in shiplap painted pistachio green. There is no drywall on these kitchen walls.
Sink and faucet. The sink adds another beautiful material: hammered copper. The faucet, like the cabinet hardware, is oil-rubbed bronze.
Lighting. There are recessed lights and undercabinet lighting to keep things bright, while a mix of clear glass and textured glass pendants serves the island and the sink.
Look at more copper kitchen sinks
Lighting. There are recessed lights and undercabinet lighting to keep things bright, while a mix of clear glass and textured glass pendants serves the island and the sink.
Look at more copper kitchen sinks
Floor plan. Here you can get a good idea of the layout. The dotted line that goes through the island shows the portion of the room taken from the garage.
Takeaways
More: See other Kitchens of the Week
- If you’re a collector, work with pros to come up with creative places to display your finds.
- You can plan a kitchen around a much-loved piece like the hutch in here.
- The kitchen is a wonderful spot to show off your personality.
- Stack molding atop cabinets to prevent dust and spiderwebs from accumulating on top.
- A pantry door is a great opportunity to add a unique detail like an architectural salvage door.
- Pulling seating around two sides of an island makes conversation easier and can accommodate more people than the typical straight line of stools.
- If you’re going for a country farmhouse look, look for alternatives to drywall walls.
- You can look to aspirational spaces for ideas to use in your more modest-size spaces. The kitchen that inspired these homeowners was massive, but they borrowed its brick wall and arch ideas for their smaller kitchen.
More: See other Kitchens of the Week
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two sons
Location: Seaford, New York
Size: 221 square feet (20.5 square meters)
Designers: Project manager Mike Potapchuk and the homeowners
This kitchen in this Cape Cod-style house on Long Island, New York, was small and closed off from the rest of the house. “The homeowners love to spend their weekends treasure hunting at garage sales and flea markets all over the place and wanted more space to display their favorite things,” says project manager Mike Potapchuk. “She has a great eye and was very involved in the design.”
Must-haves. The homeowners wanted a generously sized island and room for more than one person to work in the kitchen at a time. They also wanted enough seating for the whole family to hang out in the kitchen. In addition to having display space, they wanted to incorporate some of their favorite larger finds, like the vintage pantry door and a large hutch. One of the homeowners spent a lot of time on Houzz and fell in love with a Southern kitchen that had brick walls with arch details over the windows.