Creating an Antique Style Kitchen

I've been planning this kitchen since the first day I walked into the house.  When I realized there was a large attic above both the main kitchen and the adjoining service porch, I started dreaming of a spacious kitchen with vaulted ceilings.  

It was a lot of work to open up these spaces - but it was totally worth it.  And thanks to the skill of our talented carpenters, the new kitchen is already taking shape.

Sure, we don't have walls, plumbing or electrical - but we had to order the kitchen cabinets to have them ready in time for our project.  So there has been lots of design work going on!  I did this mockup of the island and central light fixture. 

We don't want this to look like a modern kitchen.  We'd prefer it have an old world style that's appropriate for a 125 year old house (but of course we want modern conveniences!).  That led to many of our design decisions. 

First up was the cabinetry selection.  Old kitchens have what are known as inset cabinets.  These are typically custom made cabinets where the door is flush with the frame (as opposed to overlay cabinet doors, where the door sits in front of the frame).  

Crownpoint Cabinetry Factory - inset drawers in cabinet

But custom kitchen cabinets are very expensive and given all of our other budget overruns, that wasn't in our plans.  That's when I discovered Crown Select Cabinetry, which is a semi-custom cabinet that builds inset cabinets at a more affordable price.  We had the opportunity to visit their factory in Claremont, New Hampshire and really liked their manufacturing process and quality cabinetry.

We had a great factory tour!

I sent Bob Davis our initial design layout which included our desires for a farmhouse sink, center island, an antique hutch for a pantry and a banquette for dining.  Bob came out and measured and we started working on the detailed plan.  

Here are the 3D images Crownpoint's software generated from the plans.  The refrigerator and dishwasher will be hidden behind cabinet panels, to help disguise them a little.  The microwave is across from the sink, which will at least hide it a bit (because I really hate looking at a microwave!) 

My husband wanted a coffee bar - that includes a wine fridge, so I guess it's a multi purpose bar.  It's not an antique style element, so we hid it in a corner!  

We found this beautiful cabinet at Portland Architectural Salvage and will repurpose it into a pantry.  The combination of old/new is one of my favorite things about the kitchen. 

I want a vintage style tile for behind the stove and bar sink.  I love this handmade tile I found at Distinctive Tile & Design - but I'm still agonizing over the color.  (And notice the little peek of the fabric for window treatments!) 

Speaking of color, the cabinets will be 'Accessible Beige', by Sherwin Williams.  All of the trim on the first floor will be the same color.  I've done this in other houses and love the vintage look! 

So the contracts are signed and the cabinets are ordered.  Now we just need all the important behind the wall stuff - oh and some walls too!  

I loved the cathedral ceilings so much!!!

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