Six years ago, Emma Tuccillo was on a walk with her mom in her hometown of Hastings on Hudson, New York, when she passed by a small home: a former goat barn dating to the 1700s that was once part of a larger estate.
Photographs by Emma Tuccillo (@emma_austen).
It had outdated linoleum floors and counters in rough shape unusable cabinets and poor use of limited space I spent the first five years of living in my home dreaming about...
...how I would redesign the kitchen if given the chance Besides keeping the original Dutch door intact the entire kitchen had to be gut renovated given its age and poor condition
Emma designed the kitchen herself, and brought two co-conspirators on board: contractor Donald Wemer, who’s become a close friend, she says, and her 97-year-old grandmother, Nan.
After
“I wanted the kitchen to honor the history and intentional details of the rest of the house, so a super modern kitchen was never in the cards,” Emma says.
Emma collaborated with some favorite brands for the project Boxi by Semihandmade for the cabinets they re the company s Shaker line in Mushroom Hardwood Lumber Company
for the butcher block counters and Rejuvenation for the sink and hardware including the cabinet pulls ceiling lighting shelf brackets and black switch plates
The Shaker peg rail shelf is from Odd Numbers Studio; the hand-blown glass sconce above the sink is from Materia Designs.
Emma channeled another grandparent in the design process, too. In about ten minutes, they are back to a bright white.
As for the butcher block counters custom made from local white oak by Hardwood Lumber Company Emma says I love the look and felt that it would match the historic feel of the rest...
...of my home The natural wood element pairs really well with the monochromatic gray color palette of the cabinet and walls I used a natural oil which protects it and gives it gorgeous rich tone
To add to the historic country feel, Emma added a wooden hutch made by Matt Hogan of Reliquary Studio.
The brass faucet and sprayer are from Insideast Designs.
The kitchen before: dated and cramped, with sticky cabinets, some of which couldn’t open.
Before
The washer/dryer stayed in the same place, but the dishwasher is now neatly tucked beneath the kitchen counter.
Down to the (very old) studs.
“Each morning, I turn on the lights by pressing the push button switch, fill up the electric kettle, open the top of the Dutch door for my cat Claude to perch, and gaze out of the windows that face the Hudson River. It is an absolute dream, and I feel immensely grateful to have this space.”