A Kitchen with Character: Color, Collections & Thoughtful Details

There is something especially rewarding about having the opportunity to work with a client for a second time. After previously completing their primary bathroom, we were thrilled to return to their home to redesign the kitchen.

Having already worked together gave us a wonderful understanding of our client’s style and the details that make their home feel personal. For this project, we embraced color, natural materials, custom cabinetry and carefully selected hardware to create a kitchen that feels layered, collected and completely at home in its surroundings.

One of the most personal elements of this kitchen is the way the cabinetry was designed to showcase our client’s collection. Rather than simply adding storage, we incorporated glass-front cabinetry with beadboard interiors to create a beautiful display for colorful dishes and serving pieces. Integrated LED lighting was carefully detailed into the custom cabinetry to illuminate the collection and add warmth in the evening. The dark soapstone countertop and deep green tile backsplash provide contrast against the warm white cabinetry and allow the colors within the collection to stand out.

Color was an important part of giving this kitchen its personality. The soft, muted green cabinetry introduces color in a way that feels timeless rather than trendy. In this coffee and appliance area, we carried the cabinetry to the ceiling and incorporated a combination of closed storage, open shelving and beadboard detailing. The black soapstone countertop grounds the softer green finish, while warm brass hardware adds just the right amount of contrast. Even highly functional areas were designed to feel like beautiful pieces of furniture.

We continued the green cabinetry into the adjoining area, creating a floor-to-ceiling piece that provides generous storage while adding architectural interest. Open shelving on the side gives our client another opportunity to display books and collected pieces, while the paneled doors and drawers conceal everyday storage. Extending the cabinetry to the ceiling and finishing it with substantial crown molding gives the piece a built-in quality that feels appropriate to the character of the home.

Looking at the kitchen as a whole, the balance of color and natural materials really comes together. Warm white perimeter cabinetry keeps the room light, while the green island and coordinating cabinetry provide depth and personality. Natural stone was an important part of the design: granite on the island and soapstone along the perimeter bring movement, texture and variation that only natural materials can provide. The dark green backsplash adds another layer of color and ties the different elements of the room together.

The hardware was also considered in great detail. Rather than using a single style throughout, we selected a thoughtful combination of cup pulls, pulls, knobs with backplates and a special cabinet latch above the refrigerator. These small variations give the cabinetry a more collected, furniture-inspired appearance and truly become the finishing touches of the room.

This kitchen was thoroughly thought out, from the overall layout and cabinetry to lighting details, natural stone selections and individual pieces of hardware. Each decision was made not only to create a beautiful kitchen, but also to make the space feel personal to our client.

Having the opportunity to return to this home after completing the primary bathroom made the project especially meaningful. We love being able to build on a client’s style from one project to the next and create spaces that feel connected while still having their own personality.

We couldn’t be happier with how this kitchen turned out—and we love that it feels uniquely theirs.