Some people visualize their dream kitchen for so many years that they can’t see beyond that vision, regardless of the house they’re remodeling. For interior designer Kate Marker, a dream kitchen happens more organically. She essentially listens to the house, avoiding the proverbial square peg in a round hole, such as an overly sleek and shiny kitchen in a century-old house.
In her Barrington, Illinois, home the message was clear: The kitchen needed to have historical integrity, feel substantial, and respect its surroundings. “I wanted it to feel that it was truly in its element,” Kate says. “Part of that was the architectural story, and part of it was my family’s story of moving to the country.”
The 1920s Italianate home with thick plaster walls sits on 10 acres in…
