Modern Oak Craftsman

In the kitchen, careful space planning eliminated awkward circulation and improved sight lines. Once closed off, the kitchen now opens to a formal dining room through a new cased opening and honed quartzite-topped peninsula, allowing these parents to keep an eye on their children and pets while preparing meals. The peninsula doubles as a durable work surface and a space for casual dining.

Ample storage throughout the kitchen allows for odds and ends to be discreetly tucked away behind closed doors, while a bank of open shelving above the sink provides a special spot to feature the family’s collection of inherited antiques.

Generous windows allow in plentiful natural light, highlighting the space’s neutral palette of sandy ceramic tile and warm white walls. Above the peninsula, additional pendant lighting illuminates the space. Above the sink, a reeded glass pendant mirrors the reeded glass featured in the dining room’s built-in hutch.

The dining hutch strikes a balance between casual and formal, easily accommodating everyday family meals as well as entertaining. An exquisite centerpiece to the space, the oak cabinets, polished nickel hardware, and a honed quartzite countertop tie into the kitchen’s design, while a backsplash of rusty red ceramic penny tile creates drama and a pop of lush color.

The home’s exterior is a true Craftsman. While the interior acknowledges the home’s architectural heritage, it deliberately departs from the Craftsman aesthetic with lighter colors, more contrast, and traditional forms.

New, Craftsman-style millwork and doors grounds the home in its aesthetic roots. The stained Douglas fir trim and doors pop against the contemporary white oak cabinetry seen throughout the home. Refined, traditional forms such as curved hardware, shaker cabinetry, and a consistent material palette allow the simple beauty of each space shine.

Near the home’s entry, an underutilized corner behind the front door was another “dead zone” that needed addressing. It’s transformed into a flexible bonus room, complete with built-in storage and a reading nook.

Drenched in light, the compact space provides much-needed storage for coats, kids toys, and everyday clutter while improving the home’s sense of entry. The cozy reading nook features a plummy red cushion that ties into the rest of the home’s subtle use of color. A terracotta-colored throw pillow adds depth to the space, tempered by the subtle, geometric flower pattern in the featured wallpaper.

Reeded glass pocket doors in the same Douglas fir as the trim allow diffuse light to filter into the living room. Though designed to be able to be closed off, creating this discrete space for the kids adds functionality and purpose to an otherwise vacant corner. Over time, it can easily grow with the family, transitioning into a homework room, office, or craft space.

Where the downstairs feels bright and open, the upstairs powder room feels moody and rich. Deep, maroon-painted trim nods to the subtle colors used throughout the rest of the house, while deep periwinkle wallpaper adds drama in an organic floral pattern.

The space is exceptionally small, with room only for a small sink and toilet. Yet the narrow powder room feels larger than its petite size thanks to a sizable window, treated with a textural window treatment which adds depth to the naturalistic feel of the space.

Careful planning down to the quarter-inch allowed for the inclusion of an under-sink cabinet for convenient storage.

Back off the kitchen, a primary bedroom and single bathroom were reworked to make room for a spacious primary suite and a bathroom for the kids. A consistent design language ties the primary and kids’ bathrooms together, with vertically oriented tile, built-in shower niches, and polished nickel hardware.

The primary bathroom is an oasis of calm in soft whites. Porcelain tile in the shower and behind the vanity shines in the room’s bright natural light. A finish change within the tile from gloss to matte finish adds a subtle color-blocking effect — a refined visual shift that draws the attention in an understated change.

In the kids’ bathroom, a dose of color adds a sense of play in a package that remains elegant. Matte tiles in a sea-foamy green feel calm yet complement the fanciful mushroom wallpaper.

Throughout the home, the addition of plentiful storage in purposeful locations adds much needed functionality while adding openness and light to the home. Careful use of color, a foundation of Craftsman charm, and refined interiors will allow this family to continue to grow into this home for years to come.