Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here A couple and their 7-year-old daughter; he’s a restaurateur who loves to bake
Location Minnesota, USA
Size 39.6 sq m, plus a 17.8 sq m boot room
Designer Jacqueline Fortier of Jacqueline Fortier Design
This detail-packed kitchen has an iron-encased island with a pewter worktop, glazed cabinetry and a seating nook. ‘We were careful not to have it too farmhouse-y,’ Fortier says. ‘It’s a city kitchen, and we didn’t want it to be country.’
The wife loves colour and, at the start of discussions, ‘it was going to be a lot more colourful than it ended up being’, Fortier recounts. ‘We paid a lot of attention to rein in the project to not make it so wild. In the end, it is a really beautiful, classic kitchen that can last 30 to 40 years.’
Among the kitchen’s special touches, the glass pendant lights over the island have garnered many admirers during home tours and open houses. They replaced other lights that turned out to be too large. Fortier had the original bright chrome finish ‘knocked down to look like zinc’, then installed old-fashioned Edison-style bulbs. ‘I didn’t think they would get so much praise, but people love those fixtures,’ Fortier says. Their not-quite-modern but not-quite-traditional look blends with the overall design.
Pendant lights, Cyan Design. Bar stools, McGuire Furniture.
Who lives here A couple and their 7-year-old daughter; he’s a restaurateur who loves to bake
Location Minnesota, USA
Size 39.6 sq m, plus a 17.8 sq m boot room
Designer Jacqueline Fortier of Jacqueline Fortier Design
This detail-packed kitchen has an iron-encased island with a pewter worktop, glazed cabinetry and a seating nook. ‘We were careful not to have it too farmhouse-y,’ Fortier says. ‘It’s a city kitchen, and we didn’t want it to be country.’
The wife loves colour and, at the start of discussions, ‘it was going to be a lot more colourful than it ended up being’, Fortier recounts. ‘We paid a lot of attention to rein in the project to not make it so wild. In the end, it is a really beautiful, classic kitchen that can last 30 to 40 years.’
Among the kitchen’s special touches, the glass pendant lights over the island have garnered many admirers during home tours and open houses. They replaced other lights that turned out to be too large. Fortier had the original bright chrome finish ‘knocked down to look like zinc’, then installed old-fashioned Edison-style bulbs. ‘I didn’t think they would get so much praise, but people love those fixtures,’ Fortier says. Their not-quite-modern but not-quite-traditional look blends with the overall design.
Pendant lights, Cyan Design. Bar stools, McGuire Furniture.
Before Photo
BEFORE The nondescript kitchen before the makeover lacked visual interest and warmth.
Jacqueline Fortier Design
AFTER ‘I’m not a huge fan of islands,’ Fortier says, ‘but they can solve some functional issues and this one does. What I try to avoid is the standard wall of miles and miles of cabinetry and worktop space.’
The 1.83m x 1.17m island, topped in luxurious (lead-free) pewter worktop, is a workhorse. In addition to housing the large farmhouse sink, a pair of dishwasher drawers and the pull-out rubbish bin, it offers handy seating.
The cooking set-up is an exercise in efficiency. The range cooker, flanked by cabinets, is only a step away from the fridge, and a half-pirouette from the sink and clean-up facilities.
The 1.83m x 1.17m island, topped in luxurious (lead-free) pewter worktop, is a workhorse. In addition to housing the large farmhouse sink, a pair of dishwasher drawers and the pull-out rubbish bin, it offers handy seating.
The cooking set-up is an exercise in efficiency. The range cooker, flanked by cabinets, is only a step away from the fridge, and a half-pirouette from the sink and clean-up facilities.
Jacqueline Fortier Design
The freestanding dresser is ‘an old piece we found down the street at an antiques store’, Fortier says. Since space was tight, it had to fit and be functional. It’s used as a pantry as well as to display serving pieces and knick-knacks. At 36cm deep, the cupboard allows free passage around the island, and gives an aura of age and authenticity.
The island’s hard metal framework gives way to an old-fashioned floral linen curtain sitting under the deep farmhouse sink. ‘I always try to sneak in a fabric curtain under the sink,’ Fortier says. ‘In kitchens, you don’t have a lot of opportunities to add softness, because you want the materials to be hard and functional and wear well.’
Not only does a little fabric bring another material into the mix, it also carries, Fortier says, ‘a sense of nostalgia’ and is a place to add pattern. Her choice was ‘floral but not too Victorian’, in shades of steely grey-blue with a shot of mustard yellow on a soft white field. ‘It added a bit of femininity to a mostly masculine island,’ she says.
Farmhouse sink, Shaws, Rohl. Dishwasher drawers, Fisher & Paykel. Fabric, Camberwell Vase in citrine from Schumacher. Island cabinetry, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design, made by Zroka Cabinet and Fixture.
Not only does a little fabric bring another material into the mix, it also carries, Fortier says, ‘a sense of nostalgia’ and is a place to add pattern. Her choice was ‘floral but not too Victorian’, in shades of steely grey-blue with a shot of mustard yellow on a soft white field. ‘It added a bit of femininity to a mostly masculine island,’ she says.
Farmhouse sink, Shaws, Rohl. Dishwasher drawers, Fisher & Paykel. Fabric, Camberwell Vase in citrine from Schumacher. Island cabinetry, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design, made by Zroka Cabinet and Fixture.
‘The legs of the island are a style setter for the overall look of the kitchen,’ Fortier says. The choice of rugged iron, elegantly curved, enabled her to add a different texture and material to the room and its maple flooring. ‘Kitchens in general have too much wood in them,’ she says. ‘Whenever I can introduce an element outside of wood, I do.’
Using the iron in such a graceful way was also instrumental ‘in avoiding the quintessential farmhouse country look’, Fortier adds. The iron was left raw ‘to take it almost into the industrial, hand-crafted element’ but rubbed with beeswax so it won’t rust.
Ironwork, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design,
made by CNC Metalcraft.
Read expert advice on choosing the perfect kitchen flooring
Using the iron in such a graceful way was also instrumental ‘in avoiding the quintessential farmhouse country look’, Fortier adds. The iron was left raw ‘to take it almost into the industrial, hand-crafted element’ but rubbed with beeswax so it won’t rust.
Ironwork, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design,
made by CNC Metalcraft.
Read expert advice on choosing the perfect kitchen flooring
The cosy nook seems meant for dining, but it was intended as an art space for the couple’s creative daughter. ‘That was the first idea we decided on,’ Fortier says. ‘The way I sold it was, you have this one daughter, she’s always doing projects, you don’t want her to do them on the island because then you have to clear them away when they aren’t finished to sit down and have a meal.’ Eventually, Fortier imagines, the nook will become a homework and computer station.
The curvy iron legs mirror those on the island, but the worktop is soapstone. Under-seat drawers house the art supplies. The arched seat-backs repeat the shape of the bench in the boot room. Fortier used magnetic paint on the nook wall so the budding artist can display her works. The finishing touch: a dainty chandelier – ‘a little girl fantasy’, Fortier says.
Table and benches, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Bench paint, Temptation, BM 1609 by Benjamin Moore. Magnetic paint, Benjamin Moore.
The curvy iron legs mirror those on the island, but the worktop is soapstone. Under-seat drawers house the art supplies. The arched seat-backs repeat the shape of the bench in the boot room. Fortier used magnetic paint on the nook wall so the budding artist can display her works. The finishing touch: a dainty chandelier – ‘a little girl fantasy’, Fortier says.
Table and benches, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Bench paint, Temptation, BM 1609 by Benjamin Moore. Magnetic paint, Benjamin Moore.
The cabinetry wall, with its rustic tiles, open plate rack and chicken-wire cupboard, comes the closest to a real farmhouse look. The symmetrical worktops next to the range are made of different materials. On the left is wood for the cooking prep work, and on the right is soapstone, a cold surface good for rolling dough, for the husband’s baking station.
The plate rack is an element Fortier particularly likes. ‘I always put those plate racks in my kitchens,’ she says. ‘They are so functional; that’s the one thing my clients love most about them. They’re great for people who don’t want open shelving, but who’d like a little character in their kitchen.’
The cabinetry, made from paint-grade maple, looks fresh and of an age at the same time, thanks to the glazed finish on the off-white painted surfaces. Fortier herself did the glazing, which, she explains, ‘dulls the finish, which is one of the reasons to do it. It also accentuates the mouldings and hides fingerprints.’
‘I always glaze my kitchen cabinets,’ she continues. ‘It’s softer to the touch, softer looking to the eye. It blends well with darker worktops. It makes the kitchen more comfortable and older looking. The cabinets age better.’
The plate rack is an element Fortier particularly likes. ‘I always put those plate racks in my kitchens,’ she says. ‘They are so functional; that’s the one thing my clients love most about them. They’re great for people who don’t want open shelving, but who’d like a little character in their kitchen.’
The cabinetry, made from paint-grade maple, looks fresh and of an age at the same time, thanks to the glazed finish on the off-white painted surfaces. Fortier herself did the glazing, which, she explains, ‘dulls the finish, which is one of the reasons to do it. It also accentuates the mouldings and hides fingerprints.’
‘I always glaze my kitchen cabinets,’ she continues. ‘It’s softer to the touch, softer looking to the eye. It blends well with darker worktops. It makes the kitchen more comfortable and older looking. The cabinets age better.’
The big splurge in this kitchen was the island’s hand-fabricated pewter worktop. ‘Pewter is pretty durable; it’s been around for hundreds of years,’ Fortier says. ‘It’s a beautiful element to add to any space, because it already has that sense of age. It takes on the character of the clients – and these clients are full of character.’
Pewter is a notoriously soft metal, but that only enhances its charm, Fortier says. ‘I don’t think people should be scared about how raw materials age,’ she says. ‘That’s where the beauty of the materials comes out, when they take on the patina of the owners.’ It didn’t take long for this worktop to reflect its owners. Within a month of installation, the couple’s daughter had etched ‘I love you’ into its surface. ‘How can you not melt when you see that?’ Fortier says.
Pewter worktop, François & Co.
See inspiring ways to work art into your kitchen
Pewter is a notoriously soft metal, but that only enhances its charm, Fortier says. ‘I don’t think people should be scared about how raw materials age,’ she says. ‘That’s where the beauty of the materials comes out, when they take on the patina of the owners.’ It didn’t take long for this worktop to reflect its owners. Within a month of installation, the couple’s daughter had etched ‘I love you’ into its surface. ‘How can you not melt when you see that?’ Fortier says.
Pewter worktop, François & Co.
See inspiring ways to work art into your kitchen
‘A really traditional French kitchen always has blue and white tiles,’ Fortier says. ‘We automatically knew we wanted to bring that French touch into it.’ The rustic terracotta tiles, in shades of midnight blue and charcoal black on a cream field, ‘fit the bill’. While the overall pattern is large, the detail work is small, so the tiles don’t overpower the subtlety of the cabinetry finish. At the same time, the tiles pull together the entire kitchen palette for a cohesive look.
‘All those elements came together perfectly,’ Fortier says. ‘They all blended, and I’m not a matchy person. It’s neat in the end.’
Splashback tiles, Palio 1, Tabarka Studio. Range cooker, Bertazzoni. Cabinetry, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Cabinetry paint, Shoji White, SW 7042, Sherwin-Williams. Glazing, custom glaze using Benjamin Moore Glaze Base by Jacqueline Fortier Design.
‘All those elements came together perfectly,’ Fortier says. ‘They all blended, and I’m not a matchy person. It’s neat in the end.’
Splashback tiles, Palio 1, Tabarka Studio. Range cooker, Bertazzoni. Cabinetry, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Cabinetry paint, Shoji White, SW 7042, Sherwin-Williams. Glazing, custom glaze using Benjamin Moore Glaze Base by Jacqueline Fortier Design.
Another traditional touch is the open shelving above the wooden worktop, with space for a tea set.
The cabinetry gives the modern fridge, with a pair of drawer compartments, a traditional appearance.
Fridge, Liebherr.
Fridge, Liebherr.
Perhaps nothing says farmhouse more than chicken-wire cabinets. ‘She likes chickens,’ Fortier says of the homeowner. ‘It was a nod to her desire to have a chicken coop, or a small nod to a country kitchen, but minimally. It’s a slight intro to a different style, but it’s not in your face.’ The cabinet pulls up to open and accommodates large bowls or long platters.
Jacqueline Fortier Design
‘Everyone comments on the boot room,’ Fortier says. While the storage bench, coat rack and cabinetry pick up the shape and hue of the art nook, the wild encaustic tile ‘carpet’ – ‘organised chaos’, as Fortier describes it – expresses the wife’s love of colour and pattern.
Star pendant, Visual Comfort. Floor tiles, Sabine Hill. Cabinetry and bench, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Cabinetry paint, Temptation, BM 1609 by Benjamin Moore.
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Star pendant, Visual Comfort. Floor tiles, Sabine Hill. Cabinetry and bench, bespoke design by Jacqueline Fortier Design. Cabinetry paint, Temptation, BM 1609 by Benjamin Moore.
TELL US…
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