After 15 years of driving past the 1871 farmhouse in Sharon, Connecticut, award-winning architect Rafe Churchill and his wife, interior designer Heide Hendricks, finally decided to purchase the property. For years they had admired it, but thought it was unrealistic to think they could ever live in it, as the home’s price tag and the restoration they would want to do would be unaffordable. This coming from the principals of Hendricks Churchill, an award-winning design firm with offices in Manhattan and Connecticut. After more than a decade, the 3,000-square-foot home went up for sale for $2.4 million and they passed. Three years later, as the price dropped, they offered $775,000 and it was theirs. They embarked on a restoration that encompassed the entire home, including a new dream country kitchen.
Photo credit: Photography by Tim Lenz
According to Heidi, the house had a “fairy-tale setting” in the middle of more than 30 rolling acres in Connecticut’s Litchfield County. She and her husband have built their reputation on restoring antique homes for modern living without losing the elements that make you fall in love with them. Now they were both homeowner and client. When it came to replacing the kitchen, they designed a dream country kitchen with bead-board paneling, a stunning marble sink and a thick white oak counter-topped island. A classic Wolf range with its iconic red knobs is a focal point of the back wall.
Photo credit: Photography by Tim Lenz
The new cabinets were painted Farrow & Ball’s blue gray De Nimes, a color that is inspired by the cloth of everyday workwear made in the French city of Nimes. It is a stunning complement to the statuarietto marble sink and countertop, considered one of the most precious marble varieties in Italy. At one end of the light-washed countertop, a classic Sub-Zero refrigerator with freezer below is found standing ready to provide the freshest ingredients for the family’s meals.
Photo credit: Photography by Tim Lenz
Heidi and Rafe’s dream country kitchen is perfect in the way it pays homage to the natural beauty of the home without becoming cliché or overpowering. The appliances feel in total balance with the other design elements and provide superior cooking and food preservation.
If you would like to explore more rooms in this lovingly restored home, you may enjoy this New York Times feature.
And if you live in New England, and you would like to explore ideas for your own dream country kitchen, you’ll find dozens of inspiring designs from the region’s top designers at Clarke, New England’s Official Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove Showroom and Test Kitchen.