Home Tour: Modern Farmhouse Kitchen

Welcome, welcome, WELCOME to what I consider to be the headquarters of my home: my KITCHEN!! This is where my modern farmhouse dreams really became a reality as every detail in the design here was reallllly (hah-ask Tim!) specifically curated. I had a vision for the space that anchors the rest of the house: it’s where so much goodness flows out. It’s where we gather to pray, cook, visit, talk about our days, and share meals with family and friends. It’s light, airy, open, and there’s space for everyone at our table. Pour yourself a coffee (or a glass of wine) and settle in because this is a LONG one! I’m finally ready to give you the scoop on my DREAMY modern farmhouse kitchen!

All of our major kitchen appliances are from Miele, and aside from the fact that their aesthetic A-game is ALWAYS on with their industrial look, these are the smartest appliances I’ve ever owned. Miele designed their ovens with the environment in mind and actually turn off EARLY and allow residual heat to finish off your food, saving energy both for the environment and your food’s quality. Also, I LOVE cooking with gas because the heat can be controlled easily, and food turns out AMAZING without too much effort. There are a ton of easy-to-use settings where the oven itself actually has recipes pre-loaded and knows how long to cook your meal for (ummm, yes please!). I listed all the exact Miele specs for you in the VENDOR RECAP below!

Our giant island is a serious show-stopper. It’s 10ft long and 5ft wide and can basically fit an entire hockey team. I also wanted an island without a sink in the middle, so I purposely put the sink by the window and left the island countertop wide open. We typically do “buffet style” meals where everyone can serve themselves, so I wanted to have one long ‘runway’ where I can line the food up without working around a sink or stove. It’s super functional and the most-used-space we have.

The wooden barstools from Simply Amish are just straight-up DREAMY. Cindy Shockey (who designs Modern Farmhouse Furniture and offers design services… and happens to be my Aunt!) helped me customize these stools from Simply Amish, and they turned out perfectly. We went with the “Pasadena” stools in a custom color that they have since named the “Eva Sand Dune” stain. All of their pieces are handcrafted in the Heartland of America, which I LOVE! And it makes me feel like SUCH a grownup to have these unique touches, and I appreciate it all SO much more because of all of the love and attention that went into helping us make this our dream home! Thank you, Cindy and the team at Simply Amish!

Our pendant lights over the island are from Circa Lighting, and I already told Tim that if we EVER sell this home, I am bringing the pendants with me!! Circa was our dream light fixture destination (we used Circa fixtures throughout our entire home), and our deets for the lighting are in the VENDOR RECAP!

At the last minute, we decided to put a floating beam from Appalachian Antique Hardwoods above the island to suspend the pendants, and it has turned into such a unique feature that everyone comments on when they walk in.

Just above my beautiful Miele stove, you’ll see something that I’m thankful we designed our kitchen with every. single. time I pass it: this gorgeous piece from Appalachian Antique Hardwoods. Elements like this wood beam wrapping the vent hood break up the white and bright flow by adding in the rustic, natural beauty of vintage pieces and the outdoors that I love SO much. All it took was for me to hear the words “reclaimed barn wood” and I was CONVINCED I’d find places for it alllll over my home. Pair that with shiplap from Metrie painted in “Alabaster” from Sherwin Williams, and you’ve got textured, classic, gorgeous style that gives off the modern, country chic vibe you’re craving. Or I’m craving. Either way, I love it; it makes me happy every day. Finding joy in things like this is what design is all about!

We sourced all of our ceramics (backsplashes, tile, etc) from Triangle Tile and Stone like the rustic, Subway Tile backsplash behind the stove. I wanted something clean and bright, but with a rustic-flair and FELL IN LOVE with these as soon as I saw them. Triangle Tile and Stone has all of our exact styles on file so you can contact them, and they can set you up with the same ones! They were a DREAM to work with – ask for Ashton!

Also…is it weird to be in awe of drawer pulls? Because I’m genuinely obsessed with these TopKnob drawer pulls that I picked. They’re chic and sleek and somehow offset the modern farmhouse look effortlessly, and I can already tell they’re the best quality and will last a longggg time. In all honesty, I ordered these thinking they would look a certain way and one day I arrived on-site and the builder had already installed them onto the drawers and I about CRIED. From stress…not from happiness. Because I somehow ordered appliance pulls, instead of regular pulls for drawers etc. They were massive and not quite what I had in mind, but once I lived with them, I actually loved them way more than I had ever imagined. They are chunky and heavy and can withstand a toddler using them as a personal jungle gym (I see you, Boone!). It’s funny how “mistakes” can end up being one of the best elements of the entire kitchen! For those wondering, the largest pulls (i.e. the infamous “Appliance Pulls”) were the 12″ Aspen Flat Sided Pull in the color Silicone Bronze Light, then I used a combination of the 6″ and 9″ (also Aspen Flat Sided in the same color as the 12″!) pulls on the rest of the drawers/cupboards in the kitchen & scullery depending on their width.

One of the most beautiful elements in this entire space is the “Mont Blanc” Quartzite countertops we sourced from a local spot in Raleigh. We debated using Quartz countertops (man-made product but SUPER durable), but we were really set on using real stone. I had the hardest time finding a stone that was A) big enough for our massive 10ft island and B) light enough in color because I wanted it whiteish/grey, and a lot of natural stone tends to be darker unless it’s marble, which isn’t durable. I am OBSESSED with the Mont Blanc Quartzite countertops: they’re beautiful and durable and have the perfect balance of light and dark!!

Can you spot the fridge?! That’s because it’s INSIDE of the panels there to the left of my fabulous Miele coffee maker; the refrigerator is also from Miele and even though I definitely wasn’t trying to hide it (helloooo, gorgeous) I love how uniform and CLEAN this looks! I’m able to keep everything 10000% organized at the end of the day, (because this kitchen does NOT look like this when the babies are up, for total transparency) just the way my brain feels it should be. Also, the Miele Coffee Maker is Tim’s single FAVORITE element in our entire home, and it was 10000% worth the investment because we drink a LOT of coffee, and this coffee machine is straight from Coffee Heaven.

Standing at the sink and washing dishes or prepping food is a LOT less tedious when I’m looking out of our 5-foot-wide windows. I decided to cut out all the upper cabinets on this wall so that my kitchen was extra bright with natural lighting. I definitely got some strange looks when I said I wanted not one, but TWO 5-foot-wide windows in my kitchen, but I love how it turned out. We used Pella windows throughout the house. We painted them black on the interior and exterior was already black metal and it makes them look SO bold; color me obsessed. I also added in three floating shelves to both corners of the kitchen wall so I’d have somewhere to style some decor and add some style to the wall. Love, love, love and more love.

Also, all of our kitchen fixtures are from Rick Jacobs Fine Plumbing and Hardware, and Rick was such a pleasure to work with. He met me with many, many, many (like… so many) times and always smiled, even when I knew he definitely had better things to do. He was the mastermind behind helping me pick out the plumbing fixtures throughout the entire house, and we ended up using Dornbracht for all of our fixtures for sinks, showers, and bathtubs. We also got this big, farmhouse sink from him, which I LOVE! If you want our exact styles, I recommend you reach out to Rick. I cannot recommend his services enough.

As for the logistics of making this space happen, a lot of the fixtures and items you see pictured were shipped to our old house as we waited for the home build to be ready for them to get installed – I was SWEATING thinking about them making it to our forever home, feeling sure something would get damaged. Two Men & A Truck packed up my entire kitchen from my old house and moved it all over to the new house. Nothing broke. Everything was perfectly wrapped. I had a newborn baby and needed all the help I could get. When they promise a full-service move from movers who care, they freakin’ mean it, and I’d suggest them to anyone! I linked some of my favorite breakables and non-breakables for the kitchen below:

I can’t believe it; we are nearly through the entire Home Tour! This room has a special place in my heart, and this is where I start and end every day with light pouring in or a switch being turned off, softly padding around with a cup of coffee or wine (respectively, hah) and thanking GOD for this life and all of these blessings.

Did I miss anything? If you have more questions, drop them in the comments section below! See you back on the blog SOON for more of the good stuff!

– Eva