Coastal Farmhouse Fresh - Kansas City Homes & Style

A choppy 1950s ranch in Old Leawood transforms into a modern family home with light-filled spaces and an effortless flow.

Story by Jeanne de Lathouder | Photography by Matthew Anderson

After living in their home for nearly seven years, a Leawood couple decided it needed a long-awaited update. Originally a 1950s ranch style, their dwelling had plenty of square footage, but the flow was choppy, and the entertaining areas were less than cohesive. The previous owners had done an extensive renovation, adding a second story and bumping out the rear of the house. Still, the rooms didn’t function quite right for a modern family. So, after considering the enormity of their project, the owners enlisted designer Megan Bringman of Schloegel Design Remodel to guide them through their ambitious endeavor. A professional interior designer for more than 20 years and a certified Associate Kitchen and Bath Designer, Megan embraced the challenge with her signature brand of practicality and enthusiasm.

“Our goal with the space was to make the entire main floor feel cohesive and inspire a better overall flow for our clients and their guests,” Megan explains. “Restructuring the kitchen to capitalize on the entire footprint was where we heavily focused.”

In their early design meetings, the team talked long about how they wanted to join the kitchen and dining spaces and work to increase the function of the dining room. Another major want for the new kitchen was larger windows to maximize the natural light and connect visually to the outdoor fireplace and entertaining area. A mudroom addition was also built onto the back of the home behind the garage, which immediately rectified the traffic entering directly into the kitchen. “We were able to close the old doorway off and run cabinets along the entire wall,” notes Megan.

The overall design scheme included light oak floors, an abundance of windows and mirrors, and white walls, woodwork, cabinets, and countertops to make the house look bright and open. Warm tones are strategically placed in every space, and textiles, stained woods, brushed gold hardware, and transitional design elements tie together every area of the house. “Coastal Farmhouse might be a good description of the aesthetic we applied toward the entire main floor of this home,” Megan adds.

The new L-shaped kitchen was renovated with a large island painted in Benjamin Moore Blue Dusk, a shade that is reiterated in the family room’s custom bar. The kitchen’s crisp white perimeter cabinets complement the Cambria Whitehall quartz countertops, and a wonderful wall of windows above the sink looks out onto the backyard. For a fun twist, Megan carried the subway-tile backsplash to the ceiling and cleverly wrapped the range hood with the same tile. The clients selected a 36-inch Wolf range, which creates an appealing focal point, and paneled appliances blend seamlessly with the cabinetry.

The dining room — an extension of the kitchen — features a full built-in cabinet bar that covers the entire wall. The reflection from the bar’s antique mirrored-glass upper doors makes the room feel larger. “We treated the walls with a textured wallpaper,” notes Megan. “It gives a beautiful warmth to the blue and white trim.”

Because the mudroom was a new addition to the house, the team opted to vault the ceiling and add windows, which flooded the space with natural light. In addition, the design included generous built-in cabinets, so the owners would have a place for everything and could conceal clutter behind doors when needed. “I love the cement tile choice with its rustic look against the crisp white,” says Megan.

To create a grand entrance into their home, the owners decided to replace and re-center the front door. They refinished the stairs with a white baluster, refinished treads to match the floors, and accented the new staircase and foyer with a patterned stair runner. All the hardwood floors were refinished throughout the home, and new planks were laced in where necessary. For a cleaner look, Megan removed some of the ornate wood wrapping the living room, painted the walls white, and replaced the fireplace mantle with cast stone. In the office, they refinished the floor and all the built-ins and furnished the space with brushed-gold cabinet hardware. “The clients selected the beautiful green palette, and the décor they worked on with Margot Franklin Design really pulled the room together,” says Megan.

To refresh the main level bathrooms, Megan refinished the powder bath cabinets and added two large Shaker-style doors to replace the existing drawers. Topped with a new vessel sink and quartz countertops, the vanity cabinets sport a deep green shade called Hunt Club from Sherwin Williams. For the primary bath, she painted the dark-stained vanity white, replaced the round under-mount sinks with rectangular sinks, and added a new quartz countertop. A magnificently long mirror embellished with a wood and linen border warms up the white tones and complements the existing neutral tile the clients elected to keep.

“I am thrilled we were able to completely transform all the spaces,” says Megan. “I enjoyed working with these clients — getting to know them and understanding their desires — and designing and customizing their space around those needs. They have amazing taste, and I loved working with them on all their selections.”