Timeless 1920s Colonial Revival Kitchen
This handsome suite of rooms was outfitted by a history-inspired cabinet-making company celebrating a big anniversary.
Classic in black and white, this new kitchen by Kennebec Company beautifully suits the elegant revival house built in 1920. For the renovation, Kennebec’s designers worked with Colin Smith Architects to create a combined family room/dining room/kitchen and pantry space.
Plain, inset cabinets from Kennebec’s Maine Farmhouse collection are a suitable choice—simpler than the raised-panel woodwork in the original house. They are hand-painted, a luxury finish today but one that alludes to early casework and furniture.
Special features include wood and glass doors with true divided lights, soapstone counters, and brushed-nickel hardware. Revival fixtures reminiscent of colonial-era precedents light the space, which is warmly grounded by a hardwood floor.
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With classic elements and a modified open plan, the underlying design might be adapted for homes that show a transition from Arts & Crafts to Colonial Revival. It’s a good model, too, for early houses accommodating a more modern kitchen addition.
When Kennebec Company was founded, in 1974, the specialty was building period cabinets, especially for Maine’s very old houses. Their collections today show an impressive range. Happy 51st birthday, Kennebec!
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The kitchen, dining room, and family room are not quite open plan, owing to columns and room-dividing cabinets that define separate spaces, in keeping with an old house. Sight lines are unimpeded.
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Vermont Soapstone will fabricate integral sinks and cut openings to your specs. Hefty 1 ¼"-thick countertops are fabricated to order: $70 to 95 per square foot. Standard, period-inspired sinks are $425 and up. vermontsoapstone.com
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Made in Pennsylvania, the fanback side chair from Great Windsor Chairs is one in a full complement of bow-back, sack-back, and comb-back Windsors, all in antique finishes. It’s 38 ½" high, 22 ½" wide. The side chair is priced at $505 and up. greatwindsorchairs.com
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The ‘Hampton’ pendant from Hudson Valley Lighting is a classic fixture housing three lamps in a clear glass hurricane. The diameter is 10 ¼" and the height is 20 ¾". In the Historic Nickel finish, MSRP is $606; other finishes are available. hvlgroup.com.
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What if grandmother’s etched glasses had been handed down unbroken? Instead of searching for random survivors, buy multiples reproduced by Williams–Sonoma from an antique glass, part of the ‘Vintage Etched’ collection, in pink or clear glass. A set of four stemmed goblets in pink (5 ½" tall, 9 oz. capacity) is $79.95. williams-sonoma.com
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Cues From the House: The new kitchen is fully in keeping with the 1920s house, which has elegant Colonial Revival elements of style. The vertical em- phasis of entry sidelights is repeated in kitchen cabinets that extend to the ceiling.
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The kitchen, dining room, and family room are not quite open plan, owing to columns and room-dividing cabinets that define separate spaces, in keeping with an old house. Sight lines are unimpeded.
