For a custom maple cabinet kitchen it’s the grain and detailing that matters. It’s rare to come across a maple kitchen with a vintage American furniture look and not find it just a trifle staid. But when the cabinets are exquisitely made, proportioned and glazed, the result is as timeless and as classic as this custom wormy maple kitchen in Chicago. Perhaps most surprising … [Read more...]
Rustic Master Bath Retreat
In a rustic master bath, the custom tub surround is reminiscent of a French wall fountain. Wood salvaged from a North Carolina barn is used to create a rustic master bath retreat that is also romantic. The setting helps. The bath was created in a room with large windows and a high, pitched roof clad in wooden planks. A Waterworks Cambridge tub nestles underneath the expanse of … [Read more...]
Cool Bathrooms
These cool bathrooms are worlds apart yet connected through common materials. Two very cool bathrooms, built 80 years and almost 7,000 miles apart, share an austerity which I find very hip. Some might call them cold — in one case that might be viewed as a blessing (you’ll see why) — but, for me, that’s not the point. What drew my attention is the way each architect/designer … [Read more...]
Alabama Stone Cottage II
Our room-by-room walk through of Allison's Alabama stone cottage continues. Our tour of Allison’s lovely stone house on a lake in Alabama continues with a walk through some of the private spaces in the 5-bedroom home that our blogging partner and her husband built on 4-1/2 acres. If you missed part one of the tour, you might want to start there — a good deal of background is … [Read more...]
Ancient House, Modern Kitchen
A modern kitchen befitting a two-hundred-year-old stone house on a Greek island. The Campanula House, on the Ionian island of Corfu, shows how a skillful design successfully marries a modern kitchen to a rustic interior. This is one of 12 restored houses on the Rou Estate, a high-end property in Greece that touts outdoor terraces from which you can see Albania. Kitchens in … [Read more...]
California Heritage Bath
A California Mission style bath relies on textures and materials from historic local architecture. Distressed wood with nailheads and ring-pulls is reminiscent of the rough darkness of wood found in California Misson architecture. This master bath takes its inspiration from that era in California design with white stucco walls straight from the hacienda. Wrought iron is also … [Read more...]
Beadboard Ceiling Kitchen
High gloss white paint on beadboard creates a light-reflecting ceiling in a luminous beach house. At the beach, referencing boats seems like a logical design choice. Along with barometers and surface-mounted light fixtures in the shape of glowing portholes, there is a slickly painted beadboard ceiling that feels like an upside down ship's deck. Sand-colored tile on the floor … [Read more...]
Romantic Stone Kitchen
Romantic and vintage, this stone kitchen is so seductive. When do we move in? Sigh. The romance of a stone kitchen is preserved here by moving a kitchen into a room with vintage stone walls and floor but not making the space kitchen-y in the traditional sense. Minimizing the look of a kitchen starts with having no built in cabinets. There's a large hutch on the main wall for … [Read more...]
Provence Country Kitchen
Whitewashed stucco and natural stone set the tone for a French country kitchen Arched casement windows in deep frames are the clues to the age of this whitewashed stone-house country kitchen in the south of France. In keeping with the spirit of modern provincial living, the charming stucco-over-stone chimney sits above a pro range. Tumbled marble tiles set diagonally on the … [Read more...]
