I have an antique door problem. I hunt them, find them and hoard them. The same for tables of all types. Its a constant source of annoyance for my husband....sometimes they're 8' long, sometimes 13'. I break out in a cold sweat, while I comb the world in search mode...then he has to drive me 3 hours, one direction to bring them home...all while I talk about chickens.

When this homeowner came to me to reimagine her kitchen, she was seeking an antique island. We immediately bonded over wood species and turned legs. Terri (my client), has a lovely aesthetic, and had been a kitchen designer in her past career. It's interesting when we are working on our own spaces, how a partner is helpful to guide us towards a vision. We sat and talked, looked at her tear sheets and I listened to her thoughts. Terri was a return client, I'd worked on her bathroom the year before so I had a firm grasp on what lights her up. The more I understood, I knew my barns held contenders for her. When she finally talked her husband into using antique doors for her pantry and laundry room, I presented a set of matching doors that I knew needed refinishing, but were perfect.

Our carpenter Tim looked at my drawing of how I wanted this table to be updated, and he ran with it. He took it apart, narrowed the width for me, moved the top down to become a shelf and worked for weeks to create a custom depth of stain color I needed for this kitchen. An island must be 36" in height once the countertop is applied, this table was too short, and Tim endured my texts at 4am, as I browsed the net to find antique legs to extend the height. We put our heads together and found a match made in heaven, to achieve the end result. Tim is a champ, and collaboration is a beautiful thing. The meeting of minds really is where the magic unfolds. 

I had convinced Terri to go from a dark, moody kitchen to this airy, alabaster color. We agreed on an English, Georgian feel for the overall look. As I reworked the layout, we found unlaquered brass pulls and charcoal color quartz countertops that Terri loved. We re-stained the existing floors and I had a custom hood made for this unique project. I had found an oil painting at a yard sale a few years ago, and knew it was perfect. At first Terri shook her head and said "I don't see it"...I hung it when staging the kitchen to photograph it, and she fell in love. The colors in that painting inspired her next project....the pantry. Coming soon........

A kitchen with a little old
& a little new....