{House & Home Magazine}—From cooking great meals and enjoying the company of others to helping children with homework and packing a weekend picnic, the kitchen is the hub of home life. While purpose and function are tops on the list of most kitchen designs, there is still plenty of room for comfort and style. The kitchens to follow brandish chic style inspired by classic farmhouses, the easy elegance of a French eatery or virtually any place that offers a warm spot for gathering. They speak of a south Louisiana mantra: The kitchen is the heart of the home.
A FAMILY GATHERING PLACE: Julia Child would be proud. From earth tones and rustic brick to candlesticks and simple window treatments, this kitchen is a culinary delight.
Homebuilder Quinn Martin of QMI Custom Homes designed and built this cozy kitchen for an entire family to enjoy. Traditional French decorating uses natural colors and materials, elements Martin took seriously.
The cabinetry, finished by Acadian Cabinets, is made of maple with beaded inset doors complete with Blumotion hinges. The backsplash is mostly travertine with raised fleur-de-lis accent tiles from Mexico.
The table in the center of the kitchen is a French trademark. Made of thick, antique heart of pine beams, it doubles as a prep area and a place for family and friends to eat and socialize.
Instead of traditional copper pots hanging from the ceiling, there are handmade copper lanterns to light the scene. French kitchens often take advantage of natural light for daytime chores and cooking, hence the simple window treatment over the sink which allows sunlight to flood the room.
The stainless steel professional Jenn-Air range is just one component in this convenient cooking space. In addition, there is a pot filler faucet conveniently positioned over the stove, along with built-in, pull-out spice racks on either side.
While the kitchen is a spacious 300 square feet, it remains cozy with rustic touches. The simple colors and natural materials play major roles in creating a country French-inspired kitchen. Bon appetit!
A FANCIFUL FARMHOUSE KITCHEN: Friendly, warm, and inviting; those are just a few perks of this farmhouse-style kitchen. It represents the best of both worlds, combining cozy collectibles and modern appliances in an area where kitchen work and family is integrated.
A farmhouse kitchen mixes memories of simpler times with textures from nature. Here, the custom cabinets by Cajun Wood Products have an antique brown finish to give off a worn look.
A focal point of the kitchen, the hood above the range was also finished with an intentional worn look. Home builders Michelle and Boyd Raborn of R.A.H. Homes in Lafayette, along with the homeowner, painted the hood, added a finish, and then stenciled in a faint gold paint.
The unique finish on the island was completed in a series of steps. Michelle painted it a pale yellow, then stenciled a gold Celtic diamond frame and the letter "K," the homeowners initial. Lastly, Michelle followed up with a Spanish Oak gel stain over the entire island, making it look worn, heavily textures and old.
The light fixtures over the island, reminiscent of birdcages, are made by Jeremiah Lighting Company and supplied by Teche Electric.
The foundations of this kitchen, the floor and ceiling, are simple yet sturdy. The flooring is old St. Louis antique brick, also used for the arched wall between the kitchen and dining area. Beaded board, tongue and grove cypress planks line the rich wood ceiling.
Adjacent to the kitchen, the dining room offers color and touches of softness in the animal print seat cushions and Oriental rug. The final touches of the overall space are found in the farmhouse collectibles, such as the antique door, the rooster statue and a collection of baskets.
In any farmhouse, there must be room for fun, and so adjacent the kitchen, the fun comes in the form of a full wet bar.
The entrance to the bar is from the kitchen, encased in beams. Behind the bar, is old St. Louis brick flooring and a whimsical backsplash of metallic glass mosaic tiles by American Olean from The Floor Store of Acadiana. Above the bar is a set of three unique pendant features made by Uttermost Lighting and suppled by Teche Electric.
Together, the wet bar and cozy kitchen constitute a great place for family activity or entertaining friends. Classic materials and modern amenities easily make such a space.
IN WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW—Antique wood, natural stone and arched windows and ceilings give this kitchen authentic Old World style. European influences include chiseled tile and wrought-iron accents, while elegance comes in the form of specialty lighting and a subtle tone-on-tone palette. This kitchen may have an Old World feel, but it houses modern appeal.
While the builders, Al, Don and Jonathan Nauck of Highland Custom Homes, had quite a say in the home's design scheme, they also work closely with designer Terri Boyer of Designs With You. Boyer says the kitchen's barrel ceiling is a Nauck trademark.
"The arch was added to emphasize the arches throughout the home," Boyer says. "Al and Don are famous for their barrel vaults in the custom homes they build throughout the Baton Rouge area."
A pair of arched windows is the starting point of the dramatic barrel ceiling which stretches 27 feet across the kitchen. The finish on the ceiling and the arched window wall is a faux marble which adds to the European design scheme. The ceiling is framed with cypress beams that conceal strands of rope lighting that accentuates the barrel arch.
Boyer designed and stained the cabinets with a black glaze to give them an Old World feel. Black in the cabinets picks up the Absolute Black granite counter tops.
The dark-stained cypress island anchors the space with a contrasting Bordeaux granite countertop. Above the island is a wrought iron light fixture from the Southeast Flooring & Lighting Gallery in Denham Springs.
The Italian Bertazzoni range is just one of the unique features in the kitchen, for many reasons. Its mantel hood has a distinct finish that was created with many different colors and treatments to bring distress to the finished product. The stove area also features a pot filler faucet and vertical pull-out spice racks on both sides.
The light, natural flooring is a chiseled-edges travertine laid in a Versailles pattern. A similar texture is matched on the counter backsplash, a split-faced travertine laid in a brick pattern.
Other unique features of the kitchen include the dual-height counters for serving and dining at barstools, warming drawers and bookshelves that hold Italian treasures.
"All of the details in the kitchen are meant to have an Old World feel," says Al Nauck. "People are trying to move away from the same styles they're used to and onto something new."
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE: What was originally a small, forced space purely for function, has been transformed into a spacious area built specifically for someone who loves to cook and entertain. With furniture-like cabinetry in various finishes to new appliances and farmhouse touches, this kitchen has weathered a true makeover.
For years, Summer Perkins wanted to create the perfect kitchen for his wife, who loves to cook. A home builder and owner of a home decorating shop, Roussel's of Ganzoles, Perkins and his wife designed the kitchen remodel, changing their minds several times along the way.
"I wanted to make the kitchen bigger," Perkins says. "We like to have people over, and everyone would sit in our small kitchen."
Perkins was able to double the size of their original kitchen by enclosing the back porch and smaller surrounding rooms. He also doubled the height of the kitchen's former eight-foot ceilings by cutting into the second floor. What was previously a game room above the kitchen is now a smaller bedroom.
"To have the cabinets we envisioned, we really needed height," Perkins says. "We were able to put the big mantle over the range and it looks so much better."
The Perkins wanted to use old cypress and pine beams throughout the kitchen. The beams were used on the ceiling and as a framing around the doors and windows. For the cabinets, many ideas were reviewed, but the result is a combination of new and old cypress and some paint-grade wood. Some cabinets were painted off-white, while others were finished with a natural stain. The combination of finishes offers visual warmth and depth.
The Perkins had their hearts set on a farmhouse sink made of travertine, and after searching high and low, they found a creamy marble sink with intricate carvings on the apron. Behind the sink is a row of handmade tiles Perkins found in Dallas. Eventually, he says they plan to add tile all the way up the wall to create a complete backsplash. Counter tops are dark Uba Tuba granite with gold highlights.
"Whatever we could do ourselves, we did," Perkins says. He opted to keep the original brick flooring, but after tearing out walls and cabinetry, had to patch up several areas.
Many of the accessories in the kitchen are from Roussel's, including the bronze medallion above the ceiling fan and the piece of art behind the range—a piece of metal that has been stamped and hand painted in red and gold, then mounted onto a piece of wood.
The Perkins' home was built in 1982 and before the renovation included all of its original appliances. Construction began in January 2009 and was completed six months later. Perkins jokes that the couple lived out of their bathroom sink, often cooking meals on the outside grill.
After seeing how his wife cooked in their old kitchen, it was important for Perkins to create a useful layout of the appliances, drawers and other features. So, aside from the new layout and complete with a new walk-in pantry, the kitchen is now fully outfitted with new warming drawers, a convection oven and microwave.
"My son also loves to cook," Perkins says. "Now they can both be making different things in the kitchen and they aren't in each other's way. It's something I wanted to do for my wife."
Looking back on the construction process, Perkins confesses it was a smooth process. "I can't believe we did it," he says. "It was easier after lining up the top-notch help. Sure, there were surprises, but you take those in stride."
Perkins, his family, and his co-workers at Roussel's celebrated his December birthday and the holidays in the new kitchen. "Although we started using it before it was finished, it was awesome to enjoy company after it was completed."