Tour a Small Kitchen With Maxed-Out Character
A beautiful mix of materials turned this kitchen inside out. HGTV Magazine shows you how.
TREVOR DIXON
A slab of white marble is a perk for anyone who loves to bake — it’s ideal for rolling out dough.
When people renovate their kitchen, they tend to pin down which color to paint their cabinetry, then move on to the next decision as quickly and painlessly as possible. Not Sean Lewis and Geoffrey O’Donnell, who chose to stain some of the cabinets and paint others in their 1920 Philadelphia home — complicating things in a good way.
“I thought it would be fun to experiment,” says Sean of Airy Kitchens. And he didn’t stop there. The space, which had last been redone in orangey wood sometime in the ’80s, now has three kinds of countertops (soapstone, marble and wood on the hutch), two types of cabinet door hardware and an overall style that walks the line between timeless and totally fresh.
“The different textures and colors create a rich and unique look, even without any patterns,” says Sean. “I can’t imagine us ever growing tired of it.”
Mix and Match
TREVOR DIXON
“I may have unintentionally designed the kitchen around our dog, Nash,” says Sean (left). “With his black fur and big brown eyes, he looks great in here!”
Cabinets + Shelves
The island and center cabinets are cherrywood, while the others are painted. Sean built a shelf (also cherry) that spans both windows and refurbished a Craigslist hutch for storage with a creative twist.
Green + Yellow
Olive cabinets (Jade Romanesque), sage trim (Lewiville Green) and moss green flooring are variations of an earthy hue. A pop of warm yellow (Golden Bounty, all paints by Benjamin Moore) feels like it belongs in the same family.
Pulls + Knobs
Sean did a combo of black cup pulls and white knobs with black centers (both are by Amerock) on the hutch and the cabinets. Although the hutch is a distinct piece, the hardware ties everything together.
Soapstone + Marble
Most of the countertops are black soapstone with green veining. The slab of white marble Sean put in on the far left for baking prep also brightens up the corner.
Subway + Slate Tile
The contrasting sizes of tiles on the backsplash and the floor add another layer of cool. The 2-inch-by-4-inch mini subway tiles are from The Home Depot, and the 18-inch-by-18-inch slate floor ones are from Marble Warehouse.
