The owner of this cottage in Topsfield built in 1910 had her heart set on a pink kitchen. All the swatches she taped to the cabinets, however, didn’t look quite right. By the time she contacted AG&Co Interior Design, she had nearly given up on finding the right shade. The problem? “She was looking at the swatches against the old, cherry cabinets and dark blue backsplash,” senior designer Allie Armour says. Considering the swatches within the context of the new finishes and lighting made all the difference. They landed on Benjamin Moore’s Hint of Mauve. “It has just the right amount of saturation and reads pink without looking like a playhouse kitchen.”
1 The team upgraded finishes and fixtures without modifying the layout since the space already functioned well. Along with painting the cabinets pink, Armour changed the shelves to walnut in the glass-fronted cabinets so they match the peninsula, and swapped the original hardware for slimmer pulls that are in keeping with the cottage aesthetic.
2 The slightly iridescent, glossy finish of the ceramic tile backsplash brightens the space, while the soft gray grout sets off the tiles’ imperfect edges. White quartz that replaced the black granite countertops on the perimeter does the same. “Polished surfaces reflect the room’s small amount of natural light,” Armour says.
3 Rejuvenation pendants with frosted shades and an old-timey vibe — a replacement for the tiny, 1990s-era blue pendants that were there — complement the decor.
4 The homeowner arranged Portuguese crackle-glazed stoneware plates from Anthropologie’s Old Havana collection on the wall as an homage to the hand-painted antique plates that hung in her childhood kitchen.
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5 Armour also banished black granite from the peninsula in favor of a rich walnut countertop that imparts character and warmth while echoing dark wood details elsewhere in the home.
6 Natural slate floor tiles laid in a herringbone pattern provide blue-black contrast against the pink.
Marni Elyse Katz is a contributing editor to the Globe Magazine. Follow her on Instagram @StyleCarrot. Send comments to [email protected].