This Woodstock neighborhood Craftsman home has plenty of character, but its kitchen wasn’t making the most of it. An awkward L-shaped layout limited usable storage and made the room feel smaller and more enclosed than it needed to be. At the entry, a large built-in wood cabinet created another visual barrier between the kitchen and the rest of the home.
The homeowners wanted more room, but square footage was only part of the goal. They wanted the entire space to feel more open and connected while keeping the warmth, craftsmanship, and architectural details that belonged in the house.
A Small Addition With a Big Impact
The original L-shaped footprint left one side of the kitchen feeling pinched and out of balance. By bumping out one corner of the house, Evergreen added approximately 25 square feet and aligned the new exterior wall with the existing second-floor footprint above.
It wasn’t a huge addition, but it fundamentally changed the proportions of the room. Squaring off the footprint created a more balanced kitchen with better circulation, more usable cabinetry, and a stronger connection between the kitchen, dining nook, and adjacent spaces.
Warm alder cabinetry in a Honeywood stain reinforces the Craftsman character of the home, paired with EleMar Oregon honed Elequence Tahoe countertops and United Tile Equipe Tribeca tile in Sage Green. The vertically installed tile brings color and texture to the room while complementing the warmth of the wood.
Creating a More Open Entry
The original entry included a tall, wide built-in wood cabinet that separated it from the kitchen. Removing the cabinet created a much clearer sightline, but the design still needed something to define the two spaces.
Evergreen’s lead designer, Rachel, devised a custom metal screen inspired by the existing metalwork surrounding the home’s floating staircase. The pattern and color were intentionally coordinated with the original metalwork, allowing the new feature to feel connected to the architecture rather than added later.
The screen provides just enough separation between the entry and kitchen while allowing light and views to pass through.
Underfoot, Bosphorus Argile Series tile in Cacao, sourced through CFM, introduces another rich, earthy tone and helps distinguish the entry from the adjoining wood floors.
Finding Function in a Difficult Corner
Immediately beside the refrigerator was an awkward corner where conventional cabinetry would have been difficult to access and visually heavy. Instead, the team turned it into a series of open shelves and carried the Sage Green tile across the entire wall behind them.
Eliminating cabinet doors, hinges, and hardware allowed the available space to be used more efficiently. Just as importantly, the open treatment keeps that end of the kitchen feeling lighter and gives the tile room to become part of the design.
It’s a relatively small detail, but one that addresses both of the homeowners’ original concerns: more useful storage and a greater sense of openness.
Bringing Back the Breakfast Nook
The dining nook extends the warmth of the kitchen into a cozy everyday gathering space.
Built-in alder banquette seating wraps the corner beneath the windows, while a custom alder table finished in a roasted peanut stain brings a slightly deeper wood tone into the composition. Its sculptural metal pedestal base keeps the area beneath the table visually open and makes it easier to slide around the banquette without navigating traditional table legs.
Overhead, a Rejuvenation Whalen Wide Bell Pendant adds a more contemporary shape while still feeling comfortable among the Craftsman materials and detailing.
The surrounding Sage Green tile, substantial wood window trim, built-in seating, and custom metal screen make the nook feel integrated into the architecture rather than simply furnished.
Craftsman Character, Reimagined
The goal wasn’t to make a new kitchen look artificially old. It was to understand what gave the home its character and carry those ideas forward.
Alder millwork, rich earth tones, built-in seating, substantial trim, handcrafted details, and the relationship between wood and metal all reference the home’s Craftsman roots. At the same time, the open layout, honed countertops, full-height green tile, sculptural lighting, and simplified storage make the kitchen feel decidedly current.
By adding just 25 square feet, removing the visual barriers that made the main floor feel closed off, and designing new elements to relate to the architecture already there, the remodel gives the homeowners a kitchen that functions very differently without feeling disconnected from the rest of their home.
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