 |
Text by Sue Fadem •
Photography by Rob Brinson
When Karen and Bob Siegel moved in, their tiny kitchen was remarkable for
almost nothing, least of all its funky metal cabinets. While the rest of their
Charleston, South Carolina, house retained at least the flavor of its early
20th-century origins, the kitchen was something out of the 1950s, when it was
last redone. So the couple started from scratch, knocking out a wall and
incorporating what previously had been a separate butler’s pantry and
bathroom.
The daughter of a carpenter, Karen appreciates fine craftsmanship.
The red kitchen island and yellow wooden cabinets, though new, have a vintage
look. “I enjoy things that look a little beaten up,” she says. “That way, you
don’t stress about another nick or ding.”
(a) Why hide stuff that looks so good? Door-free cabinets and a pot rack make
essentials accessible. “Anything you see, you can use,” Karen tells guests.
Cabinets, Island Cabinet Co. Stove, Wolf. Range hood, Viking. Pot rack, Ole
Charleston Forge.
(b) The island, is painted the same red
as the beadboard inside the cabinets. The cabinets were first stained a deep
maple, then undercoated in red, sanded, painted yellow, and glazed. Karen’s goal
was to let the red undertones come through. Microwave, Dacor. Refrigerator,
Sub-Zero. Trash compactor, KitchenAid.
(c) Stella, the family’s 160-pound blue
Great Dane, surveys her domain. The Siegels chose an old heart pine floor, so
the dog’s scratches would blend into the patina. (d) A well-seasoned cook and baker
who considers homemade birthday cakes her specialty, Karen reserves two drawers
for her decorating gadgets. Dishwasher, Asko.
resources
how to get the
look
(e) Karen saw her first tin ceiling in Boston and “fell desperately in love.” Her
own ceiling, a new one, has old-fashioned charm.
(f) Because we so often get used to what we grew up with,
she chose a
double sink with a shallow scrub sink in between, just like Mom’s.
Sink
unit, Kohler. Faucet, Franke. Tiles, Waterworks.
(g) The glass-front cabinets
serve as a pantry. While the panes, newly
manufactured in an old pattern, were
meant to be displayed with the
smooth surface on the outside, Karen wanted the
textured surface facing
front. Pantry cabinet, Island Cabinet Co. Textured
panes, Hines
Studios.
 Stumble It!
archive »
|
