News flash: men love nice kitchens too. (Duh.) This recently completed remodel was designed for a bachelor and his Bernese Mountain Dog (one of our favorite client dogs ever), and the result feels masculine in all the best ways: understated and sensible and full of subtly elevating design elements. The redesign joined kitchen and dining in this darling little (yes, midcentury) brick ranch, and oriented it toward a new screen porch overlooking an unexpectedly expansive back yard. The dark green cabinets almost read gray, bringing the gentlest of hues into an otherwise neutral and natural palette of black, white, wood and brick. Rift sawn white oak—including a clever sliding panel on a track above the coffee station—plays well with the darker original wood on the window casing, which was matched for a new screen that separates the kitchen from the living space. The classic PH 5 pendant lamp makes the table and cantilevered banquette seat—a great space saver— feel like more than just a kitchen table. Perhaps the best part: when the weather is anything above, say, 45°, you can open the double doors wide and achieve the Midwestern version of indoor/outdoor living, safe from mosquitos and rain in the screened porch. Thoughtful and timeless, we are confident these new spaces will anchor this charming home for a new generation.

Photography by Sarah Shields.