Art is very inspiring to me

and their lifestyle […] so I can pull things they’ll really love and be excited about.”

Two features they opted to keep: “the boxy, clean, craftsman style to the molding” and iron doors leading onto the back patio, which were previously sliding doors. “The homeowners love the free airflow when the doors are open. They entertain a lot, so we wanted to make sure they still have the [pathway] from the patio to the kitchen,” says Martin. “We preserved the opening but made it better.”

Though they originally wanted a blue kitchen, Martin convinced the couple to consider an alternate color scheme for the focal point of their home, landing on a shade of green. “I think it was really a blessing in disguise, because they ended up being more excited about the deep green,” she laughs. “I wanted to make sure the green we chose had some subtle blue undertones to it, so it did end up a bit more on the cooler side.”

To create a crisp, clean look throughout the home, Martin went with a versatile and clean white for the walls and trim. She gravitated toward bolder, deeper—but grounded—tones for pops of contrast, featured on items like the kitchen cabinetry. “There was some play between the clients and me about how to keep it deep and rich without going too moody,” she says. “The rest of it kind of fell into place because we had to find ways to let that be the anchor and let everything else be kind of airy around it.”

The couple’s taste in art also influenced the process, with the homeowners adorning the walls with several new pieces of artwork, like the commissioned painting above the fireplace. “Art is very inspiring to me,” says Martin, who also launched her own custom furniture collection, ATELIERxKM, in 2020.

Natural elements, such as cool stone tile, play happily with warm wood tones and metal bowls.

With the design kicking off in winter 2019 and a projected construction start date of March 2020, the team faced an unexpected—and massive—hurdle that ground the project to a halt: the global pandemic. They delayed construction until June 2020 but continued to face supply issues. After many setbacks, the last piece they were waiting on—the range—was finally installed in October 2020.

The couple, who had been living in the house through the construction and the pandemic, breathed “a sigh of relief and excitement” upon the completion of their new home, citing the end result as well worth the wait. “In comparison to what they had before, it was a complete turnaround,” says Martin. “They were so happy to cook and entertain again.”

The homeowners opted to bring the outdoors in and vice versa with lots of vibrant plants and iron doors that prop open leading to the back patio.