Ethan

The kitchen connects the living/dining room area and the family room.

The kitchen features a lovely CDK stone backsplash.

The kitchen window-seat overlooks the backyard garden.

Black wooden doorknobs from Australian brand Kethy were used for the cabinet pulls. The couple decided on bowl-shaped knobs for the larger pantry cabinets, and cylindrical knobs for the smaller cupboards.

To unify the different living zones, they built DIY floating shelves with wood planks from Bunnings that they painted in the same shade of Haymes Paint as the cabinets.

In the kitchen, a large picture window frames views of the surrounding forested land.

Simple maple plywood casework and cabinets are used throughout the house.

For this kitchen, the architects paired slate-gray HPL (high-pressure laminate) cabinets by Henrybuilt, cool Basaltina countertops, with custom shelving and a white Corian backsplash.

Now, the kitchen is seamlessly integrated into the floor plan and with the exterior via the large sliding doors. "It's really at the center of the pinwheel of circulation," says Cuddington. Construction-grade fir plywood cabinetry with cut-out handles is topped with a Caesarstone counter. The stools are from Hay.

Shands paired maple wood kitchen cabinets with veined marble countertops to provide character to the space without overwhelming it. "These materials, complemented by the open shelves with stacked ceramics, are key to the experience," she says. Sub-Zero undercounter refrigerators and freezer opened the kitchen up to allow for more counter space.

Caesarstone countertops were selected for the kitchen, alongside a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a Wolf gas range. "We picked a Chicago faucet, because the owner loved how it hadn't changed in 100 years," Davis says.

Early in the design process, Diane had considered a dropped ceiling over the kitchen to distinguish it from the living/dining area. “Our builder Trevor said he liked the feel of the interior space and advised against it,” reveals Diane. “We’re so glad he did!” He also made other small suggestions, including the stepped trim around the door frames. A piece of the original boxcar was salvaged by Diane’s son and daughter-in-law and turned into a key rack hanging by the main door.

The modest U-shaped kitchen has an open peninsula on one side.

In the kitchen, the couple found barely used appliances instead of new ones to save money. The cabinetry and butcher block counters are from Ikea.

The couple chose partially open shelving in the kitchen. “We’re not minimalists, and we wanted to display different objects we’ve collected,” Vincent says. The cabinetry, conceived as freestanding pieces of furniture, turned out even better than they had imagined. The dining chairs are from Ikea and the appliances are by KitchenAid.

Inside, Kyu Sung’s wife, Jung-Ja Kim, a concert pianist and professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, stands at the Corian-topped kitchen island.