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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
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photo by Cliff Franks, Buckeye Drone Photography
When Andrea Kumse and her husband, Kevin, were planning what they wanted in their new Atwater home, it all started with the kitchen.
Andrea loves cooking and wanted to be able to spend time with family while doing it whether she was hosting or just sharing a quiet night in with Kevin and their infant daughter.
“That’s where we spend most of our evenings,” she says. “I definitely think the kitchen is the heart of the home.”
Although the couple had built their previous Rootstown home through North Canton-based PH Design and Construction, this time they actively collaborated with the PH Design team during the planning process. That helped them achieve the farmhouse style they envisioned in their home that has Craftsman accents.
“I kind of wanted that look in the house that felt … a little bit more rustic but also clean,” Andrea says.
The Kumses got the cozy hangout spot they wanted for their family with farmhouse features designed just for them. Andrea describes the kitchen’s highlights.
THE DETAILS:
Floor Plan: Andrea often felt separated in their previous kitchen. So this home’s open floor plan and kitchen allow Andrea to see people in the living room and backyard through large black windows onto their beautiful 7 acres of land and surrounding farms. “You can look out and see exactly why we moved out here,” she says. When her daughter is older, Andrea hopes to be able to watch her play outside from the kitchen.
Woods: The wooden pieces around the kitchen bring a feeling of warmth. Tall overhead maple cabinets draw your eye to the pine custom range hood with a rough sawn texture over the stove. “It was a really unique piece that kind of ties the kitchen together,” Andrea says. There are also pine shelves with a smoked oak finish and rough sawn texture topped with plants, farmhouse signs and more flanking the windows overlooking the front yard. “Instead of it just being strictly cabinets, we wanted a place to have some fun decor,” Andrea says.
Island: One of the most important features is the large maple island with a black stainless-steel farmhouse sink on one side, modern metal and faux-leather chairs on the other and three black metal lanterns overhead. “Our island is a little bit darker than the rest of the cabinets to kind of break it up,” she says. The piece serves as a focal point during entertaining, such as when Andrea’s brother and Kevin’s family visited. They hung around the island while Andrea cooked and ate pizza there. “I wanted this to be a gathering place,” she says.
Counters: The Kumses wanted their countertops to be as white as possible, and they got that in the quartz surface on the counters and island, which brighten up the room and complement the white-gray tiles designed to look like brick on the main wall of the kitchen. There’s ample space, so Andrea and Kevin can be there together to plan meals or tag-team making taco bowls for the family. “A lot of prep space — that was a really big thing for me to have,” Andrea says, “having vegetables all over the place to … meal prep for the week.”
