Crossbuck Kitchens

Barns, fences, gate, and doors have long been adorned with the X-shape crossbuck motif.

If X marks the spot, look to the ends of kitchen islands where the crossbuck motif is  used decoratively to lighten a blocky mass of cabinetry. Think picnic-table legs. But variations on the feature show it as surprisingly versatile, with few stylistic boundaries. A “modern country” theme could describe the slick, mostly-white kitchen [top] which leans heavily on metallic surfaces of the hood and handsome contemporary lantern over the island. The white Viking range blends right into the base cabinetry and the pale perimeter lets the dark island star. With the island base so solid and massive, the ‘bucks on each end had to be beefy enough to support an overhang all around. That’s deep and gives the impression that the eccentric animal-leg stools actually can be used to sit at the island. Talk about urban cowboy.

In a kitchen by designer Nam Dang Mitchell, the focus on is the elegant English manor-house arch above the range. Once again, the island sports the crossbuck. While this one is framed, it dials down the formality and helps suggest that a shallow plank cabinet has simply been pushed under a sturdy table.

On an elaborate island with as many layers as a wedding cake, the crossbuck is reduced from structure to surface decoration —  it sits on a fixed board with a rosette at the center. Then the panel is framed by pilasters at the corners and for good measure there are heavy-duty base and crown moldings. The seating side has a shallow arch as well. A seafoam green finish on the island helps elevate this kitchen beyond the usual generic white category with a farm sink, marble subway tiles, and dressy Visual Comfort pendant lights.

Atlanta’s prolific Melanie Turner gives the crossbuck motif a contemporary look in this spare kitchen that sits on one side of a great room and ultilizes a very social seating style with the upholstered chair-and-a-half.

An 1840s “dog trot” cabin in Georgia features a super rustic kitchen that has a chippy work table instead of a kitchen counter. Here, crossbucks really work to brace the thick tray top, the bottom shelf and open storage area.

Raised Xs on a pair of doors in the center of a large island have a barnlike quality – I can almost see them swing open. The doors do double duty as decorative panels, breaking up the banks of no-nonsense working drawers on each side.

Criss-cross moldings on the mirrored upper doors of an  imposing kitchen hutch show how the look can be taken from a barn door to a piece of formal furniture. It’s a custom solution, to be sure, but one I’d enjoy seeing more often, especially in kitchens with glass doors on the upper cabinets.

(Source: House Beautiful, Canadian House & Home, Kitchen & Bath Ideas via Visual Comfort blog , Garden and Gun, Melanie Turner Interiors, Warmington and North, Pinterest)

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