Bright Blue Kitchen Cabinets Make a Modern Statement in a Historic Home
Warm reclaimed wood provides balance to the bold hue, while an open and airy layout clears the way for light and views to the backyard
Marianne Lipanovich
October 23, 2016
Houzz Contributor. I'm a California-based writer and editor. While most of my projects are garden-based, you might also find me writing about home projects and classical music. Away from the computer, I'm found in the garden (naturally), on my bike, or ice-skating outdoors (yes, that is possible in California). I'm also willing to taste-test anything that's chocolate.
Houzz Contributor. I'm a California-based writer and editor. While most of my projects... More
Designer-builder Brian Osborne doesn’t usually get caught off guard. But when these Philadelphia homeowners asked for blue cabinets — really bright blue cabinets — he admits that he was taken aback. “It surprised me,” he says. The choice, he realized, was the right one. The bold hue signals that, despite being in a 100-year-old stone farmhouse, this is an entirely modern kitchen.
Photos by Sam Oberter
KItchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two daughters
Location: West Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia
Size: 400 to 500 square feet (37 to 46 square meters)
The bright blue cabinets anchor the new kitchen, now open and airy thanks to the removal of walls and incorporation of two small adjacent rooms.
Hefty doses of reclaimed wood provide striking complementary color and warmth to the bold blue. Salvaged heart pine from a barn in nearby Lancaster County tops the island. Above it, reclaimed clear redwood from local rooftop water tanks installed in the 1940s and 1950s wrap the vent hood. (The black veins in the wood were formed when water froze.) More of the same reclaimed redwood forms the solid floating shelves that flank the sink.
Fan surround and floating shelves: Kole; cabinet paint: Laguna Blue and Sweatshirt Gray, Benjamin Moore; windows: Orange Energy Solutions
KItchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two daughters
Location: West Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia
Size: 400 to 500 square feet (37 to 46 square meters)
The bright blue cabinets anchor the new kitchen, now open and airy thanks to the removal of walls and incorporation of two small adjacent rooms.
Hefty doses of reclaimed wood provide striking complementary color and warmth to the bold blue. Salvaged heart pine from a barn in nearby Lancaster County tops the island. Above it, reclaimed clear redwood from local rooftop water tanks installed in the 1940s and 1950s wrap the vent hood. (The black veins in the wood were formed when water froze.) More of the same reclaimed redwood forms the solid floating shelves that flank the sink.
Fan surround and floating shelves: Kole; cabinet paint: Laguna Blue and Sweatshirt Gray, Benjamin Moore; windows: Orange Energy Solutions
To remove the walls and open the space to the backyard, Osborne added two large steel beams and other structural fixes in the ceiling.
But designing the range hood became perhaps Osborne’s biggest challenge. The homeowners, one of whom is 6 feet, 5 inches tall, wanted clear views through the room and to the backyard. That meant the fan had to hang high above the stove but still be powerful enough to adequately vent. Oh, and the homeowners wanted it quiet. “We needed a commercial fan that could sit 6 to 7 feet in the air, but they were adamant that they didn’t want to hear it when it was operating,” Osborne says.
His solution was to install the fan in a nearby mudroom and run ductwork from the hood to that room. The ductwork included a 14-inch-wide pipe with a 10-inch pipe inside it to connect the hood to the fan and muffle the noise. “You can’t hear it at all when it’s running,” Osborne says.
Fan: Fantech; dishwasher: Whirlpool; Trinsic single-handle pull-down kitchen faucet: Delta via eFaucets; couch, Slope leather stools and Teardrop ikat kilim rug in Slate: West Elm; Lucky Star globe pendant light (over sink): Dot & Bo; Urchin five-bulb gold chandelier (over couch): Dutton Brown via Etsy; back wall doors and window: Marvin Windows & Doors
But designing the range hood became perhaps Osborne’s biggest challenge. The homeowners, one of whom is 6 feet, 5 inches tall, wanted clear views through the room and to the backyard. That meant the fan had to hang high above the stove but still be powerful enough to adequately vent. Oh, and the homeowners wanted it quiet. “We needed a commercial fan that could sit 6 to 7 feet in the air, but they were adamant that they didn’t want to hear it when it was operating,” Osborne says.
His solution was to install the fan in a nearby mudroom and run ductwork from the hood to that room. The ductwork included a 14-inch-wide pipe with a 10-inch pipe inside it to connect the hood to the fan and muffle the noise. “You can’t hear it at all when it’s running,” Osborne says.
Fan: Fantech; dishwasher: Whirlpool; Trinsic single-handle pull-down kitchen faucet: Delta via eFaucets; couch, Slope leather stools and Teardrop ikat kilim rug in Slate: West Elm; Lucky Star globe pendant light (over sink): Dot & Bo; Urchin five-bulb gold chandelier (over couch): Dutton Brown via Etsy; back wall doors and window: Marvin Windows & Doors
A workhorse pantry wall stores food, and holds the refrigerator, oven, microwave and even cookbooks. Leather door pulls provide an unexpected touch.
The color palette and clean lines give the space a contemporary feel, but there are plenty of historical details that tie the room back to its roots. The millwork around the windows blends with that found in the rest of the house. And the window sills, extra deep at 15 to 18 inches, are the result of the depth of the home’s stone walls.
Other traditional touches include the soapstone countertop and the backsplash created from subway tile that was handmade in Philadelphia at the turn of the 20th century.
The radiator was originally in the laundry room, which moved upstairs and was covered in layers of paint that obscured its details, including floral patterns. Recognizing it as having been formed from a cast-iron mold made in Philadelphia at the turn of the 20th century, Osborne had it sandblasted and powder-coated to return it to its original glory. It’s still operational and tied into the home’s heating system.
Range and oven: Bosch Home Appliances; refrigerator: LG; leather pulls: BengjyMinu via Etsy; soapstone countertop: Philadelphia Soapstone & Marble Co.; white oak flooring: Sandberg’s Custom Hardwood Floors
Design: C2 Architecture
Construction: Osborne Construction
More
Kitchen Recipes: Secret Ingredients of 5 One-of-a-Kind Cooking Spaces
How Much Room Do You Need for a Kitchen Island?
Eye-Catching Islands: 10 Beauties in Blue
The color palette and clean lines give the space a contemporary feel, but there are plenty of historical details that tie the room back to its roots. The millwork around the windows blends with that found in the rest of the house. And the window sills, extra deep at 15 to 18 inches, are the result of the depth of the home’s stone walls.
Other traditional touches include the soapstone countertop and the backsplash created from subway tile that was handmade in Philadelphia at the turn of the 20th century.
The radiator was originally in the laundry room, which moved upstairs and was covered in layers of paint that obscured its details, including floral patterns. Recognizing it as having been formed from a cast-iron mold made in Philadelphia at the turn of the 20th century, Osborne had it sandblasted and powder-coated to return it to its original glory. It’s still operational and tied into the home’s heating system.
Range and oven: Bosch Home Appliances; refrigerator: LG; leather pulls: BengjyMinu via Etsy; soapstone countertop: Philadelphia Soapstone & Marble Co.; white oak flooring: Sandberg’s Custom Hardwood Floors
Design: C2 Architecture
Construction: Osborne Construction
More
Kitchen Recipes: Secret Ingredients of 5 One-of-a-Kind Cooking Spaces
How Much Room Do You Need for a Kitchen Island?
Eye-Catching Islands: 10 Beauties in Blue
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I was thrown off when we finished Rice Street in Blue but it turned out looking great! http://www.houzz.com/projects/2035421/rice-street-west-end-atlanta
I did a similar project in my house in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico taking advantage of some existing colorful accent tiles in the flooring. Then I added a complimenting wet bar area.
@laryan57 I designed my kitchen 20 years ago with open shelving. I used it between the window, around the corner ending at the oven/microwave wall. It still looks great today. I think there is a difference between a wall with nothing but shelving and a wall with combination of cabinets/open shelves. One is more traditional and the other is more modern. Open shelving was common in the 17-19th centuries (europe first, then western hemisphere) along with hooks (which was the first method of storage by an open fire or large fire oven) hanging pots/pans and anything with a strap on it. And many kitchens were separate buildings (particularly in the South).
It wasn't until the mid 1940s and onward that kitchen cabinets became popular with the new "subdivisions" (Levittown). Even then there were still some open shelving usually in a corner. The open shelving was relegated to a back room called a pantry.
In effect, closed cabinetry is the new kid on the kitchen block. Open shelving is the tradition in history.
Nice modern kitchen. I do like a colorful kitchen as well as a rustic wood tone kitchen.