Though it’s located in the quaint town of Barrington, Rhode Island, this kitchen feels like it could be in the English countryside. Moore House Design completed the full-scale renovation with this in mind, making sure it would be full of rich wood tones, textural plaster, and lots of European-inspired details. There are plenty of custom details, like the range hood and the massive, nine-foot kitchen island that is perfect for entertaining or a family meal, while offering lots of built-in storage. Of course, the most noteworthy detail might be the cabinets. They’re all IKEA with doors by Semihandmade, offering a truly custom look that elevates the kitchen’s entire design. Read on for more details about the gorgeous space.

Tell us about this kitchen. What condition was it in at the start of the project? 
Usually, we jump into projects that are beautiful little historic treasures and we play with the design around their interior architectural details. Here at our English Modernist this house had been haphazardly renovated with lots of different time periods all with not a lot of love added within her. So as we say here at Moore House – let’s make her feel loved again.  The kitchen had elements of 80’s veneer paneled cabinets, vinyl countertops, and was void of any detailing or trim work. She was also very dark and closed off to the rest of the house which we knew we had to open her up to both the rest of the house and the beautiful little garden in the back. 

Tell us about your scope of work. What was the design’s “jumping off” point? 
We are a design to completion firm, so designing this space from start to finish is kinda our jam! This was a first floor renovation with a main focus on opening up the kitchen to the living and dining rooms and adding on a second phase sunroom. Creating an openness for this space was our main objective whilst adding a little bit of English interior trim work. Hello plaster walls, raised paneling and some beautiful soaked stained oak. The overall jumping off point was that the clients love to cook. One is the chef in the house and the other is the baker! I mean can I move in! So, we wanted to focus everything around the beautiful 48″ range and oversized plaster hood. 

What are some of your favorite details in the space?
My favorite viewpoint is when you walk in though that large center opening with raised paneling we created just off the living room. This as a guest is your first glimpse of the kitchen so we knew it had to be impactful. Since the space has lower ceilings, we knew the ceiling also needed some je ne sais quoi. Adding interest to the ceiling by cladding her in nickel gap stock whilst exaggerating the hood in scale would add more interest to the room whilst making the space feel a little more proportionate with the lower ceilings. I also love the arched plaster cabinet we installed for the dry bar and the little coffee bar we created with Semihandmade doors and added a retractable hinge so that we could leave them open for the clients. I mean who doesn’t want coffee all day every day right! 

The family needed it to function for modern living, but still pay homage to the style of the home. What are a few ways you achieved this? 
Since most of the interior architecture had been ripped out over the years and covered up with dry wall and stock finishes it was our mission to bring it back. Adding elements like tadelakt, raised paneling, nickel gap cladding and soaked stained oak was our way of bringing a little English vibe to this very bland space. 

Are there any elements you feel really “made” the design? 
I believe good design is a storyline of all of the elements that play together in a space. One piece sparks a connection with another which balances the shape and proportion with the next item and so on. So, in order for it to work each design element must take into consideration the one before it.  We do however start our design off with a “Hero object.” Sometimes this is a light fixture, sometimes a trim remnant, but this time it was our Wolcott stools that will be launching in our very own ecommerce shop this November. The texture that this fabric exudes and the way the arched back balances out the very structured components of space is what we designed this kitchen around.