The before: Save for a few minor changes, the kitchen had remained more or less untouched since the 1960s. It had original wood cabinets, a laminate countertop, old appliances, but also, as Laura puts it, “a little bit of that 1960s charm.”
The inspiration: “I wanted it to feel like a reinterpretation rather than a reproduction; something that felt of the moment, but inspired by the past,” says Laura, who took cues from Le Corbusier’s seaside holiday cabin on the Côte d’Azur in France, the colors of Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin, and Ryan’s art collection.
Budget: $50,000
Square footage: 150 square feet
Main ingredients:
Cabinetry: Walnut wood designs conceived by Laura and built by a local maker and frequent collaborator, Peter Eiland of Eiland Woodworks, characterize the walls. “I love the play of colors against the walnut and concrete tones. We worked to find shades that weren’t too bright but still brought a pop,” says Laura of the row of upper cabinets.
Hood: A Zephyr insert camouflages the hood into the wooden millwork.
Flooring: The oak wood flooring is original to the house, though Laura had to patch it in a couple of areas. “Luckily, this flooring is easy to blend and we just let those stain imperfections shine where needed. As I like to say, old houses are perfectly imperfect.”
