Warming Effects

An avid baker, Daniel enjoys perfecting cookie, gingerbread and candy recipes. To devise a cozy and inviting kitchen, he combines golden and russet hues, glimmering metals and mellowed patinas. Follow his plan for making a newer space feel like a well-seasoned heart of the home.

Paint the cabinets and island a warm mustard shade. Daniel built his custom kitchen cabinets when remodeling, but consider enlivening standard cabinetry with a wash of pigment.

Hang braided garlic, graters and other kitchen tools from a metal pot rack above the island.

Create a backsplash using pressed-tin panels secured with construction adhesive. “You can cut these with scissors,” Daniel encourages.

Install metal bin pulls on cabinet doors and drawers.

Punctuate the room with pops of red. Select braided rugs, gingham window treatments and a jelly cabinet as color accents.

Display natural wood antiques, such as spice cabinets, firkins, bowls, rolling pins and mashers, atop cabinets and counters. The butter churn beside the island ranks among Daniel’s favorite treasures. He dreams of replacing the granite-look laminate countertop with wood.

“You have a house, but as you fill it with wonderful things that catch your eye and heart, it slowly becomes a home.”

Want to know Daniel’s recipe for creating festive vignettes? Use these three key ingredients: fresh-cut greens, handcrafted decorations and warm candle glow. On the kitchen counter, a primitive stool acts as a stage for a Sweet Annie and winterberry tree, mini lantern, papier-mâché Santa and flameless candle placed inside a grain scoop. Daniel ties the scene together with a red primitive textile, ribbons and candy canes.