If you’re like us, your Instagram timeline is filled with design hacks, trendy remodels, and some of the most beautiful décor you’ve ever seen. Ultimately, you think to yourself, “There’s no way I could do that myself.”
Think again.
With a little help from the RTA Cabinet Store, here’s how a mom of three turned her New Hampshire farmhouse into an oasis of warmth and comfort.
Making a Move
While living in Rhode Island, Korilyn “Kori” Martin and her husband began to search for a new property with a historic feel that had enough acreage for her entire family to enjoy. But it wasn’t that easy.
“It’s really hard to find the acreage and the antique house in Rhode Island,” she said, “So it brought us up here to New Hampshire.”
That move would prove fruitful in more ways than one. They ended up choosing a 1700s-era farmhouse with 4,000 square feet of space on 25 acres of land. But despite the antique look, Martin said the previous owners had made substantial improvements to the plumbing and other critical features, making their eventual renovation much easier.
“It was all just cosmetic stuff that we were able to renovate ourselves a little bit at a time on weekend projects,” she said.
Their list of upgrades included brand-new cabinets, but once again, they ran into difficulties.
Thinking Outside the Big Box
Martin decided that hardwood cabinets would be the best fit for her new and improved home. Looks were important, but with three small kids, that was only part of the equation.
“I don’t want to have to ever worry about them spilling drinks and [the hardwood cabinets] swelling and then having to get it replaced,” she said.
At first, she turned to a big box store for the cabinets she wanted. But right before she was about to make her purchase, she ran into some problems. The cabinets she thought were hardwood were actually made of particleboard. On top of that, her cabinets would take 6 to 7 months to arrive at her home, much slower than she had anticipated.
The long wait time was the final straw. Martin declined her order with the big box store and began her search for a better alternative. That’s when she found the RTA Cabinet Store.
A Great Design with Little Time and Effort
Martin’s cabinets arrived just one week after she ordered them. That not only beat out the big box store but several local cabinet shops she’d considered as well.
But a quick delivery was just the beginning. To ensure she got exactly what she was looking for, Martin took advantage of RTA’s free design service. Once paired with a designer, she explained her vision of equal parts preservation and a greater sense of warmth.
“Our goal here with renovating our home has always been to maintain the home’s original character to try to bring that back to life,” she said. “We have exposed beams throughout and just a really warm palette. So, we wanted to bring that feel into our kitchen but without it feeling too warm.”
Martin’s designer got right to work, formulating a blueprint that really impressed her.
“Every little measurement was spot on,” Martin said. “So, when it came time to order the cabinets, I had zero reservations, I knew that everything was going to work.”
Once her cabinets arrived, it was finally time to build. She initially set aside three weeks to get everything assembled. Little did she know how easy it would be.
The Finished Product
It took just 2 days for Martin to assemble and install her cabinets thanks to RTA’s step-by-step assembly videos.
“We had our computer up with the tutorial going as we were assembling, and we would pause and do that stuff and then play and then pause, and it just made it so easy,” she said.
She ended up choosing the Devon Slab Kitchen Cabinets in white and pairing them with pre-existing maple cabinets that went on the bottom. This created a nice two-tone contrast that helped lighten things up while pairing nicely with the darker, maple cabinets that she “didn’t have the heart to rip out.”
These cabinets were also placed around the refrigerator and on top of the white quartz countertop. Martin said it was all about achieving that high-end look without the massive spending attached.
“I felt like I could splurge on my appliances and the countertops, and then make very specific choices with how we wanted to stack our cabinets, just to make it feel a little bit more high-end,” she said. This also led to extra storage space for appliances and food while staying accessible for her kids.
To complement the cabinets, Martin painted the trim in Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore and added paneling to the ceiling. Alongside some extra touch-up painting and customization, the kitchen renovation took about 6 months to finish.
Take one look at Martin’s Instagram @thefarmhouselife or her blog, and you’ll be amazed by the fruit of her labor. She also received national recognition in American Farmhouse Style’s October/November 2022 edition alongside several other historic farmhouses.
Overall, Martin said that using RTA cabinets was much easier than she expected. “Even if you don’t consider yourself a DIYer, I still think that it is simple enough with the tutorials to give it a try,” she said.
Ready to get your project started right? Check out RTA’s Resource Center.
