I am going to be completely honest - I was in love with this client's space immediately. To walk into a home on the coastline and be surprised, is a joy.
Tucked away along the North River, the interior of this carriage house was lovingly designed by a mother and adult daughter, in collaboration with Hingham Lumber Company. The clients came to BirchBarn for a countertop last fall and specifically chose rustic walnut for its knots and charming character. There are so many aspects to this project I am obsessed with so let's get into how this Scituate family flipped the script on traditional coastal design with a bit of our help.
Rustic walnut is a distinctive style of black walnut. When designing with rustic walnut, we intentionally look for boards that have wild knots and voids. We carefully fill these "imperfections" in a way that brings your attention to the wood's uniquely perfect characteristics. I loved how the character-rich wood anchors and softens the space but doesn't dilute the intent of the modern design. And special thanks goes to the sunlight who was a paid actor on the day of our visit, as it highlighted all of the rich grains within the countertop.
While the clients were in the market for a countertop when they came to us, they also commissioned Matt to build three custom Waterfall Stools crafted in the same rustic walnut material. The family worked with Matt to add their own custom spin to these stools - a metal foot bar that the design doesn't usually call for - but the clients really wanted to include a place to tuck your feet onto. Initially, we weren't sure how the metal bar would look with the sleek design of the stool but were won over once we understood the vision for the space. The beauty of a custom shop is while we do have prototypes, we love constructing unique and specific designs that complete the client's vision. We did go back and forth on whether to use wood or metal for the foot bar, but now that we've seen them in their new home, the metal rod was the definite right choice.
This mother-daughter team worked closely with Hingham Lumber to design the multi-layered look of the carriage house kitchen. From custom cabinetry and high-end industrial fixtures, to the carefully planned wood elements, each of the features work together to create a uniquely charming design. The dark brown hues of the walnut stools, countertop and the shelves (pictured below), complement the dark appliances and the exposed brick, while adding a lovely contrast to the clean lines of their custom cabinetry.
