The La Pequeña Colina house has so many interesting details that it was hard to choose just one room to talk about, but the kitchen ended up coming out on top. Read below to learn the “why” behind some of my favorite elements in this modern Mediterranean kitchen.
We separated the dining room from the living room with two beautiful, antique partitions that match the warm stain of the rest of the wood in the home. The partitions create a cased opening effect and add a beautiful texture that makes for a dramatic entrance into the kitchen.
Creating Architectural Details
Houses don’t always come with original charm, like arched doorways and original tile patterns, so sometimes you have to get creative when trying to make a remodel look unique and timeless. Rather than a typical trimmed out cased opening, we used these antique partitions that were installed to be stationary, so that they could create a really dramatic entrance into the kitchen.
Thinking Outside the Backsplash
There are so many tile options out there, but remember you don’t have to be limited to just using tile for a backsplash. Here, we used a polished white macabus quartzite with horizontal veining. This stone offsets the rustic feel of the wooden features in the room and brings in a modern look to the kitchen. I love that it adds texture without competing with the rest of the design details in the space.
Tying it All in
We installed this raw wooden beam on the vent hood to tie into the beams in the living and dining areas, making the room feel like an extension of the other spaces and carrying that Mediterranean feel into the room. You don’t always have to add in full ceiling beams—a simple beam accent is a great way to achieve a cohesive-feeling design throughout the house.
Mixing Cabinetry
Mixing modern-style lower shelving with more classic white uppers and open shelving is a visually interesting way to incorporate a lot of storage into this space. I was intentional about painting the upper cabinets white, so that the architectural elements in the room could stand out. For this kitchen in particular, if the uppers had been wood as well, then the details, such as the open shelving, partitions, pendant lights, backsplash, and beam would’ve blended in with the rest of the space.
Putting Essentials on Display
I love the idea of putting your most-used items on display in your kitchen. In this room, we used a modern pot rack on the far wall to serve as a functional display method for everyday pots and pans. Our welder, Lonnie, custom made these for this kitchen. This saves the homeowner from having to look through a cramped cabinet or drawer, while also bringing the character and patina of their collection to this wall. We did the same thing with the open shelving. Using open shelves to store your most-used and favorite kitchen items keeps them within reach, while all of the items that you want to be hidden easily go into the closed cabinets.
Finishing Touches
This homeowner wanted a modern Mediterranean feel throughout the house, so I chose to warm up the space by using cabinets with a white oak finish. To tie in some modern details, I chose these black metal pulls that are mounted on top of the drawer to make it feel more unique and minimal. Even though hardware seems like a small detail, it’s actually an important element that has the ability to pull the overall design of a room together.
Thanks for reading and watching with us, and be sure to comment below and let me know which room was your favorite. Here's a peek at more photos and details from the La Pequeña Colina house!
