A playful color scheme cooks up a preppy vibe in this Druid Hills kitchen

Plus, find out where you can get the look
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Prep kitchen
“The backsplash tile is a seriously kelly green that is the best friend of pink in the preppy world,” says Katie Rosenfeld, an interior designer from Boston who worked on this renovation for her Atlanta friends.

Photograph by Emily Followill

Prep kitchen
A new-to-look-old butler’s pantry is part of an addition to the house by architect Frank Neely. Honed marble countertops are from Alabama; cabinets are painted in “Rosemary Green” from Benjamin Moore.

Photograph b Emily Followill

Pink and green in a historic Druid Hills kitchen? Bring it on, says homeowner Katie Newsom, who has always loved preppy colors but didn’t expect to use them in her kitchen. She and her husband, Sedgie, originally planned a white kitchen, as would be traditional for their Mediterranean Revival house. “We wanted to make a modern version of a 1920s kitchen but still keep the historic feeling of the house,” says Newsom.

However, Newsom had bonded with her interior designer, Katie Rosenfeld, partly over a mutual love for bright colors. Rosenfeld is actually based in Massachusetts, but the two met online through a blog about chinoiserie. Surprisingly, they found they had both graduated from Boston College and had friends in common. Working long distance, the two Katies fell in love with a striking Osborne & Little fabric, “Maharani,” and its whimsical hot-pink-and-green pomegranate pattern became a starting point for the kitchen’s distinctive style.

“After we picked that fabric, I suggested to her that the backsplash be green,” says Rosenfeld. “It had that preppy vibe Katie loves, and looked great against the white.”

Prep kitchen
Stand-out features in the breakfast room include lush draperies with tropical fabric that’s repeated in the kitchen, a Saarinen tulip table, and hoop-back chairs from Century Furniture covered in a green faux leather crocodile print. The vintage brass chandelier is from homeowner Katie Newsom’s family.

Because Sedgie (a dentist by day) is the main cook in the family, Newsom jokes that it’s his kitchen, and she just had the pleasure of decorating it. In other words, function and form were his-and-hers priorities. The original kitchen in the house—as was customary for the time period—was a small, dark space, which has now been remodeled into Katie Newsom’s home office. To create a light-filled, more efficient new kitchen, architect Frank Neely designed a multiroom addition on the back of the house. The oversized island, double dishwashers, and top-of-the-line appliances accommodate entertaining, says Newsom, such as Sedgie’s famous New Orleans–style dinners or her annual “Southern Supper” for friends and family.

Newsom, who is a lawyer, says her tactical skills came in handy throughout the process, as she and Sedgie negotiated features important to each of them. She got the green backsplash; he got a Thermador range. They both appreciate the large island and plenty of workspace.

Rosenfeld is also a fan of the spherical brass-and-white pendants. Brass accents appear throughout the kitchen as a nod to retro style. And Newsom loves to see the vintage brass bamboo chandelier—originally purchased by her mother in the 1970s— hanging in the breakfast room.

 

Love that preppy style? Here’s where you can find similar furnishings.

Dining table

Saarinen oval dining table, from $5,081, Design Within Reach, 2451 Peachtree Road, dwr.com

Faucet

Rohl Country Kitchen single-handle faucet in polished chrome, $718.05, Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery, 764 Miami Circle, ferguson.com

Drawer pull

Classic cast iron brass cup pull in polished nickel, $8.19, House of Antique Hardware, houseofantiquehardware.com

Rosemary Green

“Rosemary Green” by Benjamin Moore, benjaminmoore.com

Monaco barstool

Monaco barstools, from $2,290, Kravet, ADAC, kravet.com

Maharani

“Maharani”  by Osborne & Little, trade only, Ainsworth-Noah, ADAC, ainsworth-noah.com

Ceramic tile

Clayhaus 2” x 8” dill ceramic tile,  $44.95 per square foot, Modwalls, modwalls.com

Side chair

Isabella side chair by Century Chair, starting at $1,335, Mathews’ Furniture Galleries, 1240 West Paces Ferry Road, mathewsfurniture.com

Cast iron casserole

Collector’s enameled cast iron 6-quart round casserole, Martha Stewart Collection, $150, Macy’s, macys.com

 

Resources

Prep kitchen

Photograph by Emily Followill

Backsplash tile: Custom green glass bricks, DiscoverTile. Range: Thermador. Brass pendants: Hicks by Thomas O’Brien (large), Visual Comfort. Window treatment fabric: “Maharani,” Osborne & Little. Hardware: House of Antique Hardware. Barstools: Monaco with Manuel Canovas indoor-outdoor fabric, Kravet. Breakfast room table: Saarinen pedestal table, Knoll. Dining chairs: Hoop-back chairs, Century Furniture; faux leather, Kravet. Butler’s pantry paint color: “Rosemary Green,” Benjamin Moore. Countertops: Alabama white marble, Bottega Stone. Faucet: Country Kitchen collection, Rohl.

This article originally appeared in the Summer issue of Atlanta Magazine’s HOME.

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