Natural grace - Brand new vacation home kitchen designed by Bruce Kading

There is an innate connection between a land and its people, both working on the other to shape a shared history. Few landscapes loom as large in our collective psyche as the frontier, romanticized as a true connection between man and nature.

Perhaps this is why, even now, we're drawn to settings that evoke a similar experience. This vacation home, in the pristine lakes area of Minnesota, draws on the region's rich history of human habitation in its design and aesthetic, says interior designer Bruce Kading ASID, CID.

"The owners wanted a cottage-style home that would reference the dwellings that started to appear throughout the area at the turn of the last century.

"The idea was to establish an assumed history for the property, a sense of its having organically evolved over the years. To achieve this look, I specified reclaimed wood for the floors and beams, and a plaster-like finish on the walls. All of the surface materials either have a natural patina or an aged look."

Kading also worked in conjunction with kitchen designer Carol Sadowsky CKD, whose design expands on the theme of the house having been adapted over the years.

"The kitchen occupies a fairly open-plan space, flowing directly into the dining room and the hearth room, so it needed to relate to those spaces. Equally important was the need to establish a focal point for the kitchen area. The large island achieves this, and its furniture-like design gives the impression that it is separate to the overall design."

Kading is in full agreement. "The island works as a distinctive item it establishes the all-important focal point and gives the kitchen its own identity. I've further enhanced this by giving it a unique color treatment; and the addition of the pewter top further elevates its status within the room."

Story by: Justin Foote