Cucina Rustica

This was the original galley kitchen in a home not lived in for eight years.  My design was based around a "J" design.  I had to remove the wall to the right to open the kitchen to the living room to just over 7 feet to allow for my 7 foot farm table.  In order to accommodate the refrigerator, 30 inch farm sink, dishwasher, the range, one (36) inch cabinet and two lazy susan cabinets the back door wall had to be extended.

Here is the just over 7 foot opening I mentioned.  I opted to have the upper portion of the wall arched for accent.

I was on a budget for this home so I ended up choosing cabinets from a display model at U-Save Cabinets. I would never have chosen the original style - Mission - but knew I was going to paint and shabby them up.  It's amazing what paint can do. I paid less for these all-wood cabinets than I would have for the particle board unpainted cabinets available at Lowes or Home Depot. I primed them with a gray primer and then added layers of two brown-grey paints mixing them with glaze to extend the time I had to move the paint around until I found the perfect combination.  For contrast, the original wood color in seen on the sides of the cabinets. In between, I sanded edges and created "worm holes" and then hand wiped burnt sienna acrylic oil paint onto and into the raw wood.  I finished with layers of orange oil. I love the finished product.   

I had already decided on Live Oak solid wood countertops so off to Saint Simons Mill I went.

The logs are milled thirty feet from where they lay and then moved into the warehouse.

If you have never had an appreciation for wood, you would have coming here. 

I choose the thickest width of wood the cabinets would hold and then asked that the edge of the counter remain natural in form and that when the back pieces where cut straight to accommodate the walls, that natural edge be used for the backsplash.  

I hoped that when the original false-ceiling in the kitchen was removed, the open beams used in the living and dining room were also originally used, and they were.  Because they were covered right away with the ceiling they were never painted like the rest of the house. I chose to allow the kitchen ceiling to remain natural and would have wanted to sand-blast the other rooms to match but it was cost prohibitive. Because the kitchen was extended, there was not enough original flooring so instead of matching it I decided to lay rough hewn travertine marble. 

In order to accommodate the copper farm sink the door to the cabinet had to be removed.  Rather than having them cut down the doors and re-attach them, I opted to skirt that area in burlap.  The copper farm sink was an eBay purchase steal at $300.00.  I would normally not have chosen the embossed sea shells but that was where the savings came in and since I am less than a mile to the ocean, why not?

Apparently, the house was made of stucco over brick so when the kitchen wall and ceiling were removed the exposed brick was peeking through so I immediately knew I wanted to open the back wall up.  This was the only area this could be done so it ended up making more of a statement. 

I had the ever-talented Tamerie Shriver made my roman shade out of, what else, burlap.

I splurged here and saved there. The lighting over the sink is a galvanized barn lamp available at Loews for $20.00.  You just have to have exposed galvanized metal over old brick so that made it easy for the electricians.

The alcove behind the range idea I swiped from a magazine and recreated it here.  The street address sign I had made the last time I was in Italy and it depicts the address of my genitori italiani (parents), Alfonso e Carla Tomasi, 24 Via Monti, Sesto Fiorentino, Italia.

More photos to come...