KITCHENS & BATHS

A designer steeped in the classics pairs salvaged wood and antiques with contemporary materials.

With antique wood and brick, a designer gives patina to a country-formal kitchen.

With a studio in Greenwich, Connecticut, designer Sarah Blank has worked on many historic houses for her clients. That’s only one reason why her designs feel period-inspired, even when the house is new. Blank says she was introduced to the language of Classicism in 1994, and she has pursued its study ever since—reading, traveling, and attending seminars at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

“This kitchen is entirely new,” she says, “in a house I’d call French Eclectic. The client felt the layout of kitchen and pantry was critical to her everyday life. All items were inventoried and measured, and drawers allocated for specific belongings.” Blank worked with interior designer Susan Thorn on details including the tile backsplash, its multiple colors reflecting the owner’s Majolica collection.

Blank’s design is a bridge between the area’s Colonial-era roots and Old Europe. The iron fireback, for example—a relic from the days of the hearth fire that heated a room—is an antique purchased in Paris. “The rough beams and the brick were the beginning of inspiration,” Blank says, “and the zinc hood followed suit.”

1. HISTORICAL CABINETS

Parish Millwork created custom inset cabinets with flat panels and furniturelike feet. Timeless white paint is crisp against brick walls and a wood floor. Pulls by Rocky Mountain Hardware.

2. SALVAGED WOOD

If the room feels like it’s in an old house, that’s in part due to the deft incorporation of salvaged antique lumber for the floors and beams in the new kitchen.

3. MELLOW PATINAS

Natural, historical materials include the zinc hood and island countertop and Calacatta marble on perimeter cabinets. A backsplash of blue-green tiles adds just a bit of color and shine.

4. A HEARTH WALL

Appliances (including the set-in range top) are unobtrusively modern. The warm feeling of a hearth and chimney comes from a wall of rustic brick inset with an antique, cast-iron fireback purchased in Paris. The blend of materials and textures suggests great age.