As you may have seen in my latest Reel, I just completed a renovation for a 100-year-old bungalow in Southwest Atlanta. This kitchen has great bones (and amazing ceiling height) but had been badly flipped by a previous owner, so it lost its historic charm. I wanted to bring back classic elements to the space while improving functionality and creating a brighter, more inviting workspace for my clients who love to cook. While we retained the cabinetry for this round of renovations, the upper cabinets moved a few inches up the wall to capitalize on the height of the room while keeping them within reach. This made room for a marble shelf with brass brackets, adding easy-to-reach storage for everyday essentials and bringing a charming, old-school architectural detail to the kitchen.

The lower cabinets were painted Farrow & Ball's iconic Hague Blue (similar to Behr's Nocturne Blue I used in this kitchen design), and the walls were painted in Sherwin-William's Alabaster white paint color. I mixed metals in the space for a traditional look and used local Polycor Georgia marble for a truly timeless material on the perimeter countertops that will age beautifully.

KITCHEN RENOVATION BEFORE & AFTER

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I love the soft veining on this Polycor Georgia marble, which was quarried only an hour North of Atlanta. This marble is actually used to face many iconic buildings in the city, including the Federal Reserve. For a more traditional look, I specified a tall 10" backsplash so you could really appreciate the materiality, and used the same marble for the shelf above. Another highlight of the space is the single-basin 30" fireclay sink, which I find so much more functional than a double-basin. The fireclay is bright and so durable and pairs beautifully with the classic look of a bridge sink faucet.

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I love the combination of materials and finishes in this kitchen, and how a few classic references really ground the space to its historic roots. Mixing metals is a great way to add classic sophistication to a kitchen or bathroom, so don't be afraid to use both brass and nickel accents together. Marble is also my go-to for a timeless countertop, and utilizing a two-tone paint palette for your cabinetry can help emphasize the height of a room, pushing the two levels further apart. It was such an honor to bring some traditional charm back to this century-old bungalow!

xoko