After their Bridgewater home burned and they lost everything on Christmas Eve, Greg and Missy Wilkerson, determined to stay in their newfound neighborhood, discovered the perfect house just around the corner.
However, their was one problem, the interior was austere and minimal, a far cry from the warm home the Wilkersons wanted for their family.
Lesley Tatum of Historically Modern Interiors has been dutifully adding touches as the family settles in, but no room quite illustrates the transformation like the family kitchen.
The room was stark white with hard, white marble countertops and a semi-circle island with a raised stained concrete bar.
“The owners had a real concern about that concrete bar. They were scared it would not fit well with the more traditional home feel they wanted, but I think we have come up with something that they can see themselves all sitting around and eating breakfast or something,” Tatum said.
The most notable touches are a Frankie Buckley floral painting and some old-framed botanical prints that breathe life and color into the otherwise sterile environment.
The hangings on the wall accent existing flourishes like the ornate chandelier and a textured marble backsplash on the walls behind the countertops.
The room is compartmentalized, but open, much like the rest of the house. It features a breakfast nook, a butler’s pantry that leads to the dining room, and a bathroom.
The breakfast nook features a custom table and chairs and is surrounded by windows for ample sunlight. The partially-domed ceiling is brushed with a refreshing blueish green that really glows in the daytime sun and is split into triangles by smooth white beams.
The butler’s pantry displays an array of ornate dishes and those who look down will be greeted with a beautiful marble and wood inlay floor that continues into the dining room.
The bathroom features an ornate blue Chinoise wallpaper for an unexpected splash of color.
For the main room, all the appliances have been replaced with top of the line Thermadore units, including six-burner cooking top and a space saving drawer microwave in the center island. There is even a TV hidden in a custom cabinet.
The center island is surrounded by six comfortable white “X Back” stools.
“The furniture we put in really shows how you don’t know where you might find a great piece. The breakfast table is a custom piece and the stools are something I found in a catalog but they both bring something to the room,” Tatum said.
In similar design to the breakfast nook, the main cooking space features a similarly-colored coffered ceiling that completes the varied but consistent color palate and offsets the stark white marble.
The final accent of the room was an un-intrusive white porcelain flying pig. Tatum said it was a very minimal flourish that looked like it could easily hold some coffee creamer or sugar.
