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Reclaimed Siding and Red Accents Personalize a White Kitchen

By Camille LeFevre

This home’s salvaged siding adds a warm touch to a kitchen with a built-in desk and nearby mudroom.

Photos by Brandon Stengel

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two teenagers
Location: St. Louis Park, Minnesota
Size: About 450 square feet (41.8 square meters)
Designers: Tamatha Miller and Timothy Ferraro of Bluestem Construction

In a busy household with two teenagers, the former kitchen was a natural gathering spot for family and friends, but it was feeling cramped. To make more space, designers Tamatha Miller and Timothy Ferraro removed the wall between the kitchen and the adjacent breakfast room. Access to the backyard was also important, so a new doorway off the eating area leads to the patio and grilling area.

The homeowners already had the red dining chairs, and they requested a neutral color palette to make the red stand out. “The mother is a seasonal decorator, and the red really works throughout the seasons, as she decorates for all of the holidays,” Miller says. The custom cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Simply White. The countertops are a mix of two Caesarstone products: white for the island, and black for the outer countertops and built-in desk. The wood flooring is new and is narrow-strip red oak. A farmhouse sink and stainless drawer pulls complete the look.

“They wanted the feeling of an open kitchen but with character,” Ferraro says. “So we created the dark accents by utilizing some of the house’s old shiplap sheathing for the island, computer nook and mudroom wall.” 

The salvaged sheathing had served as insulation under the home’s previous exterior siding. When the exterior received new siding and insulation, some of the sheathing was saved to be used in the kitchen. The recycled wood was treated with a four-step stain process: deep purple, then a dry brush of warm gray, followed by a dry brush of soft white and ending with a final dry brush.

To free up counter space, the new island features a built-in microwave. The industrial-style pendants above the island and the light fixture above the dining table complement the reclaimed wood.

By adding a built-in desk in the kitchen, the parents can monitor their teens’ computer use and searches without hovering over their shoulders. “This was our way of bringing the computer out of the kids’ bedrooms and into a public space,” Ferraro says. The built-in desk is counter height, and the same industrial-style stools were chosen for the island and the desk.

The newly remodeled mudroom adjacent to the kitchen features the same reclaimed shiplap sheathing as in the kitchen. It covers the back wall of the custom built-in bench with coat hooks.

Houzz: Reclaimed Siding and Red Accents Personalize a White Kitchen