Arts & Crafts Design, Built In

A modern kitchen has the appeal of an Arts & Crafts living room.

- Patricia Poore

This kitchen was designed for a turn-of-the20th-century house in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Arts & Crafts details are evident in the original house built during a transition away from Victorian styles. The homeowners were dismayed by the outdated and cramped kitchen they'd inherited. With architect Louis Wasserman of Milwaukee, they selected Crown Point Cabinetry to build cabinets and trim.

Quarter-sawn white oak, Arts & Crafts tile, and custom details are stunning. Crown Point designer Diana Stowell says the job was technically challenging: a support beam was needed; electrical and plumbing elements had to be disguised. She brought in Fred Puksta, a Crown Point product developer, to help with problem-solving. Everything is hidden in the Craftsman-style ceiling design and a large, square pillar at the open end of the peninsula.

The oak kitchen is flanked by a painted wet bar near the kitchen entry and storage built under the stairs. The main room is impressive for its warmth and furniture-quality details: crown mouldings, brackets, tenons, chamfers, even the toe-kick design.