Kitchen Cerused Oak & Encaustic Tile Transformation

Before

After

Before Transformation

The galley kitchen was basic and cramped — white painted cabinets with black laminate counters, stainless steel open shelving, and a fluorescent tray ceiling that gave the space an institutional glow. The layout was functional but uninspired: appliances lined up along opposing walls with no room to gather or linger. A small breakfast table was squeezed in at the end. Everything was surface-level clean but had no character, no warmth, and no connection to the rest of the home.

Before

The Approach

The white cabinets were replaced with custom cerused oak — vertically planked doors with a whitewashed grain that brings natural texture and warmth without heaviness. Carrara marble countertops replaced the black laminate, introducing veining and depth. The floor was completely transformed with encaustic cement tiles in a geometric medallion pattern — gray, white, and sage — that gives the kitchen its defining personality.

A key design move was reimagining the sink as a freestanding piece of furniture rather than a built-in unit. This opened up the layout and created clear access to the pantry, which sits to the left of the stove — a flow that was previously blocked by the old cabinetry. The unfitted quality of the sink station, with its open shelving, skirted linen panel, and marble top, makes the kitchen feel more like a collected room than a fitted workstation.

A globe pendant replaced the fluorescent panel, casting warm directional light, while a wall-mounted sconce and olive branch arrangement bring the garden inside.

After

After Transformation

The kitchen feels like it was always here — like it grew from the house rather than being installed into it. The cerused oak cabinets age beautifully and show fingerprints less than the old painted surfaces. The encaustic tile floor has become the room's signature — guests notice it immediately, and it sets the tone for the entire ground floor. The marble counter is where bread gets kneaded and where kids do homework, and its patina only improves with use. The globe light and the sconce give the room a warmth that the fluorescent ceiling never could. This is a kitchen that invites you to cook slowly, to pour a glass of wine, to stay.