Rustic Refined Kitchen Design Plans

Looking for kitchen remodel ideas? Don’t miss these plans for updating a dated kitchen with a gorgeous transitional kitchen design with rustic elements.

rustic refined kitchen design plans | Maison de Pax

This post is sponsored by KraftMaid. All opinions are my own.

If you’ve been following along for any length of time, you probably know about Little Pax Ranch (but feel free to catch up on or refresh your memory of the story here). What you may not know, though, is that the property just up the road from our place became available last year, and my parents bought it. [insert happy dance!]

And so began project #clientmomanddad. 😉 In all honesty, it has been so fun working on the interior design of this home with them to make this place beautiful and functional for them, their Irish Setter, and their many grandchildren.

You can catch the full before tour and project updates on Instagram, but today I want to focus on the heart of the home: the kitchen. I’m so excited to be partnering with KraftMaid again (we love our KraftMaid cabinets at our ranch house!), and I can’t wait to show you the kitchen design ideas for this space.

Kitchen Design Challenges

Here is what the kitchen looked like before: closed off from the rest of the house, with awkward spacing around a bulky kitchen island and under utilized pantry space… not to mention the outdated wallpaper and color scheme.

80s kitchen "before" - find out how to update!

We knew we wanted to open the space up some, while maximizing storage and ease of use for my mom (who loves to cook) and all the rest of us (who love to eat her cooking). That meant removing the tile floors and fur down, widening the doorway beside the pantry, and removing the wall with the fridge.

dated 80s kitchen before renovation - see how it changed | Maison de Pax
Before
kitchen renovation in progress | Maison de Pax
In progress

The biggest challenge in this space was the overall arrangement. First, we had to find a new place for the fridge, since that was the wall that needed to come down to open the kitchen to the dining room. Second, the resulting L-shaped kitchen was made even more uneven by the asymmetrical window placement… so we had to find a focal point and some semblance of balance for the space.

Kitchen Design Process

I knew we wanted some stained wood cabinets mixed with painted white cabinets. The stained cabinets are more forgiving of dogs and grandchildren, while the white kitchen cabinets help make the space feel fresh, bright, and clean. I love a two toned kitchen because it allows the best of both worlds.

So I began gathering inspiration by browsing KraftMaid’s Explore Your Style page. I looked at both rustic and transitional kitchens, in particular, and found several L-shaped layouts that were helpful, as well as several door styles I wanted to explore further.

kraftmaid kitchen cabinet design inspiration

I then played with KraftMaid’s Kitchen Visualizer, which allowed me to combine door styles and colors for the two-tone kitchen cabinets I was considering. KraftMaid not only offers style inspiration tools, but also provides planning and budgeting tools, which can be so helpful at this stage of a renovation! After browsing the website and considering options, I was ready to start planning.

I then worked closely with a KraftMaid designer to plan the best use of the space. I was also able to order some sample doors. This was especially helpful, as I was working to coordinate wood kitchen cabinets with wood floors, and mixing woods can be tricky!

We considered several arrangements, played with different hood options, and experimented with various pantry configurations. In the end, we came up with what I think will be an incredible space, and I can’t wait to see it come to life.

Kitchen Design Details

And now the fun part: which KraftMaid cabinet options we chose for my parents’ rustic refined kitchen.

Kitchen Layout

We decided to anchor the L-shaped kitchen with a corner sink and create a focal point along the longer side of the L with the range hood. We created some symmetry with matching lower and upper cabinets on either side of the range.

kitchen cabinet plans for a rustic refined kitchen with Kraftmaid | Maison de Pax

We also centered the island on the range. The 3×6′ island will add some much-needed storage and counter workspace on one side as well as an overhang for 3-4 barstools on the opposite side.

kitchen cabinet plans for a classic kitchen with island and open shelving with Kraftmaid | Maison de Pax

We balanced out the fridge on one end of the L with a floor to ceiling deep decorative cabinet on the other.

kitchen cabinet plans for a kitchen with island with Kraftmaid | Maison de Pax

The other side of the room will get a huge pantry (with secret organization I can’t wait to show you!) and coffee bar space with open shelves to match the ones by the windows.

kitchen cabinet plans for a rustic refined kitchen with Kraftmaid | Maison de Pax

Door style and finishes

Door style: We wanted a simple, square look, but we wanted something a little more refined than a true Shaker for a more transitional style. So we selected a square door style with a simple bead and a raised panel.

rustic maple raised panel doorstyle from Kraftmaid

Wood type: We chose a mix of painted white Maple cabinets and stained Rustic Maple cabinets. The stain we chose is Husk in a Suede finish (which is KraftMaid’s most matte option).

rustic maple cabinet door with white oak flooring | Maison de Pax

Kraftmaid Kitchen Cabinet Installation

I am so excited to see this kitchen come to life for my parents! Cabinets typically take 4-5 weeks for production, and ours were ordered just before Christmas. When they arrive, we’ll have them installed and top them off with a marble subway tile backsplash and some quartzite countertops.

Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing the whole process on Instagram and the final reveal here on the blog!

KraftMaid Kitchen Cabinet Design FAQs

In case you’re considering a new kitchen cabinet design, I thought it might be helpful to answer a few FAQs I’ve received since I shared the Little Pax Ranch kitchen.

Can you order directly online from KraftMaid?
KraftMaid does not sell cabinets online directly to consumers, but there are more than 5,000 retailers across the country who sell KraftMaid. Check out the retailers near you to speak to a KraftMaid designer.

Where can I get samples?
Many KraftMaid retailers will have samples in different door styles, paint colors, and stained finishes to view in store. You can also order samples on the KraftMaid website or through a KraftMaid designer at a local retailer.

I’ve noticed door styles that look the same with different names; why is that?
Style names differ by retailer. For example, the door style we chose for my parents’ house goes by Dillon, Dakota, and Durango at various retailers. If you have a particular door you like, be sure to bring pictures to your local retailer to identify the correct door style.

Be sure to pin this for later, and stay tuned for the final reveal!

kitchen mood board with medium tone wood and marble | Maison de Pax

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20 Comments

  1. It looks beautiful!
    My only thought is that (similar to your plan) we have a corner sink adjacent to a dishwasher, and it is really not fun. It’s really hard for one person to wash pots and pans while another loads the dishwasher. My kitchen is a 1995 builder basic kitchen and if I could only change one thing, that’s what I would change.

    1. Oh goodness, I totally understand! In this case, it was a cost/layout decision. Moving the sink to the island was the only real alternative, but that was going to be expensive and would cause the dishwasher and oven to bang into each other… It may not be the perfect solution, but at least the view is good out those windows. 😉 Sometimes we have to work with what we have! Thanks so much for the feedback, though!!

  2. Beautiful!! What type of flooring is that? I love the color! I think it would look great in my little farmhouse (I have indoor dogs, bunnies, and sometimes chickens!) and hopefully would hold up too! 🙂

    1. Thank you so much! It is an engineered white oak made by Greenworld Industries. This is the Artisan line in the color Larsson. We have the same Artisan line flooring in our home and our ranch (in different colors), and we have loved it! It’s a UV oil finish, which we have been really happy with. I hope this helps!

      1. Rachel – this is amazing. I love the floors and am considering using the same Lasson selection – how are they holding up against traffic? Do you have pets in your home or at the ranch?

  3. love, love the finished product/ we are redoing our kitchen, and plan to do something similar with the choices. Do you know the name/color of the island stone? Thank you.

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