Get the Look: Design Recipe for a Luxe “Modern Farmhouse” Kitchen

The “modern farmhouse” look is the most popular design trend of the moment. One of the draws is that its most common elements evoke a warm, simpler lifestyle, which is lovely. But, if you fear that too many rustic details will make for an overly casual, leaning toward cliche look, you might want to take notes from this kitchen’s design. It’s absolutely a little bit country, but its got a good dose of contemporary high-end style and absolutely rocks the role of Luxe Modern Farmhouse.

There isn’t a single room in Alon and Emily Shaya’s New Orleans home that we don’t love, but the kitchen stands out as an especially successfully designed part of the house. Not surprising, since Alon is one of New Orleans’ most well-known accomplished chefs.

Certainly the inclusion of top-of-the-line appliances add to the luxurious vibe of the kitchen, but it’s the thoughtful balance of farmhouse plus modern design details that makes this room’s style perfect for emulating. Below, the “recipe” for how you can get the same look in your kitchen.

Because shiplap is a material often used for constructing sheds, barns and other rustic buildings, it adds charm, character and texture beyond what just plain white walls could do. If you’re handy, you can add your own shiplap, but there are ways you can hack the look, too.

The cabinets in this kitchen are simple yet stylish. They straddle the line between farmhouse and modern beautifully. Made of painted wood, they complement the shiplap and the plain doors, with no panels or other decorative elements keep them from looking too farmhouse-y. The simple round knobs could be used in a very modern kitchen or a very country style kitchen — which is why they work so well here and painting them the same color as the cabinet doors ensures a streamlined, polished look.

Marble is a luxury material, so its use on the counters and the island fill the room with an understated opulence. Extending the marble to the backsplash so that it meets the white shiplap was a smart choice to help marry the two materials and the two styles – luxe modern and farmhouse – visually.

→ Using Marble in Your Kitchen: From a Little to a Lot

Alon and Emily struck the perfect chord with the kitchen lighting, including the copper Dyke & Dean wall sconces and Pepe & Carols pendants. Both are vintage inspired and a bit industrial in style and certainly fit into a farmhouse style space. But note the scale: the fixtures’ smaller sizes feel elegant when paired with the other design elements.

A traditional-style Kohler Farm Sink teams up with a shiny, modern Dornbracht Tara faucet to fit into the theme of pairing modern elements with country details.

Unlike some other modern farmhouse style spaces, the rustic, rough wood details don’t overwhelm. A few hefty wooden chopping blocks by John Boos add just the right amount to this otherwise polished space.

This kitchen’s color combination is a classic that feels fresh again. By sticking to white and dark blue (Benjamin Moore’s “Washington Blue,”) the room doesn’t feel overly cutesy. And the blue is the perfect shade — it’s a deep, dramatic bold blue. It embraces the painted wood details you’d find in a farmhouse with a vibrant or modern edge.

See more of this home → A Celebrated New Orleans Chef’s Charming Creole Cottage