My Arts and Crafts Kitchen
When we purchased our house, 18 years ago, the only thing my wife Laura didn't like was the kitchen. The house was built in 1935 and had lots of great features, except for the kitchen. Back in the 1930's the kitchen was the least important room in the house and was also usually the smallest room in the house. Laura loves to cook and bake and spends a lot of time in the kitchen. I promised her I would build a new kitchen within four to five years. Well, it took 16 years! You have heard the saying that the cobblers children go barefoot.
She was very understanding most of those years because she knows how busy I am with building projects for our current clients, but the time had come and so I started spending my Sunday's doing shop drawings and finish samples, as I would for any client. We chose solid curly maple with a medium dark aniline-dye finish and an Arts and Crafts design that fits the style of our home perfectly. The cabinets are solid wood, inside and out. I put in solid wood counter tops, except around the sink where I put granite. I also incorporated my carving into two of the cabinet doors. One is an avocado tree branch with three little fat birds, and the other is a camellia branch with flowers and one little fat bird.
Part of the project included expanding the kitchen by about six feet. I had to move out the walls, make new matching casement windows, and add distressed wood plank flooring to match the existing windows and floor. I also made a big island with chopping block for Laura to prep her dinners and baked goods on. The kitchen turned out beautifully, and it fits our home as if it was built in 1935 along with the rest of the house.
Close-up of the carvings.
Laura's old kitchen.
The old kitchen
