Text by Hannah Jones
The Hastings family are no strangers to renovation and construction. Deborah Hastings and her husband, a designer and a builder respectively, have also moved eight times as a couple. With every move comes the chance to completely redesign a new space, an opportunity that Deborah relishes. “This was an in-between house for us,” she says. “We found a lot that they thought was unbuildable, but we squeezed this house on it—resulting in a home with unique, cozy features due to our limited space.”
Truly a mix of old and new, the kitchen and dining areas and their furnishings seamlessly blend together, almost as if the pieces were created for each other. “We installed hand-scraped white oak floors and left them almost natural. They have this wonderful rustic feel that when I put my dark furniture in with it, it made everything look authentic and antique,” she says. “These are reproduction pieces, but the floor just sets off everything.”
While the dining room has a more traditional style thanks to the reproduction antique-style dining set, large framed prints, and black iron chandelier, the kitchen sports a contemporary farmhouse design. Deborah used cedar beams that her husband had left over from an old house to give the kitchen a rustic touch that blends perfectly with the oak floors. The white and robin’s egg blue cabinets brighten the space, and they also hold one of Deborah’s favorite design secrets—they’re actually from Ikea. “I used Ikea boxes and ordered the doors from a company called Semihandmade,” she explains. “I did that and then painted them to match the color scheme, and I saved some money by doing that.”
Her budget-savvy methods also extended to the backsplash and countertops. The marble-like countertops are actually quartz, which Deborah prefers because of their durability. She also used manufactured subway tiles that give the appearance of being handmade with their slightly bumpy surfaces and worn-looking edges that add character and definition.
Considering the couple’s constant itch to design and flip, this kitchen might not be in their forever home. But Deborah’s timeless style is sure to bring a blend of contemporary design and well-loved pieces to wherever they end up next, just like she’s done here.
