Rustic Industrial Kitchens

Kitchen planning has officially begun! I'm putting my 10th grade architectural drafting class skills to good use and starting to map things out. On top of all his other good qualities, S is a really fantastic cook and has always wanted a professional kitchen with a huge prep sink, a professional range and open shelving instead of traditional cabinets. So with this in mind, we're drawing up plans and looking for deals. They say the kitchen is the heart of the home, so we're taking extra care to make it a great place to cook and hang out.

As I've mentioned before, this is our favorite inspiration kitchen with its glazed concrete floor, clean feel and industrial appliances. So far it looks like our layout will be rather similar:


We're currently looking at auctions and restaurant closings for deals on sinks. I'm not sure if we have the space for S's dream: the 3-bay with 2 drain boards. But maybe something smaller like this could work (we even have a similar row of lockers if we wanted to recreate the exact look!):

For S, the more stainless steel the better... but I'd really love a white marble work area to roll out dough (I'm a terrible cook, but I'm good at baking!), and I'm also looking for ways to add some rusticity to flow with the rest of the house as well as more inviting touches that will make people want to gather 'round:

A little wood and plant life really add texture and warm things up... Our stove will butt against an old brick fireplace, so the photo below is particularly interesting to me. I just wish I could see the other angles of the room.

A few built-in cabinets (instead of a whole kitchen full) add character instead of a clunky feel:

And here, the room is so airy the cabinets and ducts don't feel at all bulky or oppressive:

We will have one exposed log wall in our kitchen, so that will automatically add some warmth and rusticity to the room. I'm very excited to see how it will look:
That's a lot of pictures for one post, I know... and I have many more in a folder in my inspiration files. I'm looking closely at all of them to see what ideas I can piece together. We want our kitchen to be unique, but it's nice to not have to reinvent the wheel -- especially where layout and function are concerned. I'm studying the "work triangle" and all of that, and I happened to hear an interesting and relevant interview with designer Thomas O'Brien on the Splendid Table over the weekend. All of the sourcing and pricing and sketching is taking a lot of work, but I will figure out this puzzle. I am confident that it's going to be an awesome kitchen both in form and function -- and that we can do it for less than you might think.

Only 3 more weeks until S's sister is good and hitched, and then we'll have the time to begin the actual work. That feels both a little too far away and a little too close at this point!

Image sources: 1. Remodelista, 2. Simply Decorated, 3. Ill Seen, Ill Said, 4. Martha Stewart via evergreenhill on Flickr, 5. Design-Crisis, 6. The Urban Farmhouse, 7. AT

UPDATE: If you like this post, follow my "Rustic Industrial Kitchens" board on Pinterest!