Big family breakfasts and evening celebrations alike unfold in the kitchen of a coastal New England summer cottage upgraded by San Francisco-based Ken Fulk. “We wanted this kitchen to feel timeworn and unpretentious—no shiny new appliances, but obviously it needed to function at the highest level,” says Fulk. The team accomplished this by cladding the entire space in custom casework with inset beadboard paneling washed in Farrow & Ball’s minty Arsenic and bolstered by splashes of historical, geometric-print Adelphi wallpaper. They weaved in industrial pendants sourced at the Brimfield Flea Market, Serena & Lily bar stools, and “for the floors, we created a hand-painted checkerboard ‘rug’ that instantly reads as a throwback,” adds Fulk. “Retrofitting vintage elements is a fun and smart way to reuse salvaged items, but don’t underestimate the longevity you’ll get from a custom piece, like the central island.”
To conjure a grounded, old-world air in the kitchen of a Spanish Colonial in Austin, local studio SCW Interiors melded custom Tabarka Studio tiles flaunting rubbed clay edges, leathered granite Ubatuba countertops, brass-hammered CopperSmith sinks, and cozy vintage rugs that lend it the feel of a moody study. SCW’s private-label ash cabinets, made in Pennsylvania, are standouts, elevated with Modern Matter hardware. “It was important to use a stained wood versus black paint to lean into the organic nature of the other materials,” says lead designer Shazalynn Cavin Winfrey. But it’s the glass-door True Residential refrigerator, painted a brazen grassy green, that provides the most memorable of glamorous touches. “It was an expensive gamble and commitment,” adds Cavin Winfrey, “but one that sets this kitchen apart.”
