In Maryland, a White Kitchen Goes Au Naturel

Once they bought the modest-sized, woodland home in Towson, Md., from an inside designer in 1999 for $570,000, businessman David Watts and his spouse, Nancy Watts—aged 59 and 58 respectively—fell in love with its pure wooden finishes, particularly the hewed cedar partitions and delightful chestnut beams within the household room. Over time, they complemented the country parts with additions of their very own, together with naturally shed elk and deer antlers from their property, repurposed as cupboard {hardware}. “But, whereas the opposite areas largely echoed the woods round, the white kitchen caught out like a sore thumb,” says Mrs. Watts.

In 2020, after saving for nearly a yr for his or her dream renovation, and scouring the marketplace for designs in a pure wooden grain, the couple’s stars lastly aligned when an Instagram search led them to Tanya Smith-Shiflett, founder and chief designer of Distinctive Kitchens and Baths (UK&B). “They wished the kitchen to be reflective of the encircling nature. We opted for heat woods in uncooked, unfussy kinds, and easy limestone-like finishes for the flooring,” says Ms. Smith-Shiflett.