Modern European-Inspired Kitchen with Beautiful White Oak Cabinets

Take a tour of the beautiful Modern European-Inspired Kitchen with custom white oak cabinetry, built-in appliances, and marble countertops!

Our kitchen was my absolute favorite room to design when we were building. The kitchen is very much the heart of a home, and we positioned ours to reflect that in the design by placing it right in the center of our home. This kitchen was nothing like the other kitchens I have designed before—those I did through blood sweat and tears. Our last kitchen was gutted and we installed every single thing ourselves, even the countertops! So it goes to say that both that kitchen and the one we remodeled before taught me much about a new build. We’ve officially been in our home a year this week, and I am so excited to finally reveal our Modern European-Inspired Kitchen in its entirety!

Take a Video Tour

Custom White Oak Kitchen Cabinets

As I mentioned, we have remodeled several kitchens. I have painted and restored existing cabinets. We even added trim to transform them into shaker-style doors. We have installed semi-custom cabinets ourselves. And so when I was designing this kitchen I felt I knew exactly what I wanted. So far I had only had painted cabinets and I knew I wanted stained cabinets for a welcomed change this time. I chose to go with white oak for many reasons, but ultimately I love the woodgrain! I never quite imagined I’d be the one saying that, but there was something about the woodgrain in this particular wood species that I found very organic to compliment my rather streamlined style.

A door profile was another option I had to decide on and I came up with this custom option. I worked with our cabinet maker to create a “skinny shaker” style that I absolutely adore. This is a perfect bridge between a timeless look with a modern edge. I shared all the details of our cabinets in this post if you are looking for more information.

Custom Cabinets from Ideal Cabinetry in Appleton, WI

Two Tone Kitchen Cabinets

I do however still love a gorgeous painted cabinet and opted for a two-toned kitchen with white uppers. There are 2 countertop cabinets that frame out the stove and a plaster hood vent, and then on the right side, there are a set of uppers with reeded glass. When designing the overall space, because we placed the kitchen with high visibility, I wanted to kitchen to almost appear more like furniture, and less like a “kitchen” if that makes sense. I think having wood on the bottom and painted uppers provided that look.

Along those thought lines, I allowed our built-in fridge and freezer to appear more like an armoire with shelving next to it.

Black Kitchen Hardware from Armac Martin

A huge thank you to Armac Martin for supplying the beautiful hardware

I chose black kitchen hardware to give a sort of muted effect. However, I do love the look of mixed metals and chose polished nickel for the plumbing fixtures. The black hardware you see here is from two different collections. The Leebank Pulls and the Withenshaw Knobs. For the pulls, I chose two different sizes depending on the drawer/door face, as well as a T-bar handle to help differentiate different spaces within the kitchen. I love how the Leebank pulls combine a round design with straight lines by using grooves. It fully captured my whole design concept of mixing straight lines with organic features. For more information on choosing hardware, I have a post specifically for that!

Kitchen Appliances with Zline

In order to achieve this whole look of “furniture” in the kitchen I decided to go with built-in appliances. We went with a Fisher and Paykel Fridge/Freezer column set. These look fantastic and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out! The dishwasher is the panel-ready model from Zline. I love the seamless look our island has with the dishwasher panel! Definitely a splurge I’m happy I stuck with! In addition to the appliances, we used Zline sinks in both our kitchen and pantry which have proven to be amazing! I love the accessories they come with!

Marble Countertops and Backsplash with a Granite Island

For our countertops, we chose polished marble around the perimeter with a honed black granite island. To be honest I was really nervous to do it this way because most kitchens I looked at for inspiration had it the opposite. I’m a very visual person and it wasn’t a cheap item that I could just change if I didn’t like it. A LOT of people made me confirm multiple times I wanted marble because of its reputation for being delicate.

I will say I 100% do NOT regret going with marble. It is absolutely stunning and nothing even compares to it! Yes, it has scratched. No, it has not stained. The staining I’m honestly surprised about this because I found a few things I missed when cleaning the kitchen that I expected would cause a stain. The scratching has been pretty minimal. There are maybe two that are somewhat noticeable if you are looking right over the top of them, and I believe they were from kids pulling something across them. So I will say if you have really young kids, it might not be the best choice. But mine are all older now so it’s not as much of a concern.

Because I decided to go with marble on the perimeter I wanted something more durable on the island. This is where we do most of our chopping, prepping, and any heavy use. So far this plan has worked out perfectly! Of course, I would’ve loved soapstone, but I knew I wanted at least one durable surface in the kitchen that could take a beating!

Stone Accents in the Kitchen with GlenGery

We technically have two different backsplashes. I knew I wanted a full slab backsplash to reduce grout lines to keep a clean look. But I didn’t want it to feel stark. So I decided to incorporate this limestone look stone above the marble shelf and behind the open shelving. We used a white mortar with a sloppy over-grouting that our mason absolutely nailed! It truly is an art form! A huge thank you to GlenGery for partnering with me on this Cashmere Limestone. When I first started designing this kitchen probably almost 2 years ago I saw a handful of kitchens using limestone as a backsplash, and it definitely seems to be picking up some momentum! It is also what you see on the outside of our home, which I will share more of this summer when the weather improves!

Modern European-Inspired Kitchen Plaster Hood

We had an exposed hood in our previous home, and while I do love that look, it felt a bit too industrial for this kitchen so I instead opted for a plaster hood. It blends in beautifully with the design not drawing any attention to the necessary appliance! We placed it quite a bit higher than what might be average for a few reasons. One to keep it in scale with the 9′ ceilings, but also because my husband does quite a bit of the cooking and he’s quite tall! It also adds a bit of grandness to the kitchen and didn’t cost any different to put it a little bit higher!

Modern European-Inspired Kitchen Design

As I said, this was my favorite room to design, and it is my favorite room to be in! I won’t lie, it makes me want to cook more, haha! I do love to cook, but if I’m going to cook I prefer it to be something interesting rather than just a simple meal. My kids however mostly prefer simple!

I’ll finish out the post with some more pictures, as I’m sure you’ve already grown tired of my rambling! You can also check out my previous post which goes more into all the details and specifics of the kitchen design!

Shop Our Kitchen:

Kitchen Hardware: Armac Martic
Stone: GlenGery
Custom Cabinets: Ideal Cabinetry
Cabinet Color: Sherwin Williams Snowbound
Cabinet Stain: Custom (more info here)
Wood Species: Plain Sawn White Oak
Range: Zline
Dishwasher: Zline
Sink: Zline
Range Hood: Zline
Fridge and Freezer: Fisher & Paykel
Plumbing Fixtures: Brizo
Pendants: No longer sold | Similar option at World Market