The phrase “in progress” or even “under construction” are good descriptors for our kitchen space. Many things have changed—we moved the sink to a different wall and demolished an entire wall of the room—but some things remain the same—we are still using the cabinets and counter tops that came with the house.

Back in September, I was thrilled when we moved our range into an empty corner of the kitchen. What a treat to have four burners and an oven in addition to the backyard grill that had been our only way to cook! But in the last few weeks, the range wall has really come together!

Thanks to a very generous neighbor who let us dig through his pile of used roof tin from an old farm building, we decided to cover the range wall (the short wall of our now L-shaped kitchen that is also home to the pantry door) in the wonderfully not-too-rusty corrugated metal. Once the first couple of pieces were up, Ben decided that the primed, white drywall behind the tin wasn’t going to work—the white was glaring through the holes and imperfections in the wall covering. So, those pieces came back down and he painted the walls and furring strips dark gray before covering the whole corner in the tin.

I love the mix of the metal with the barn wood trim at the ceiling and on the bulkhead’s chalk board (in left foreground of photo above). Next, Ben framed in the doorway to the pantry and installed the absolutely gorgeous door we adopted from my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding last summer. The door was used as part of the backdrop for their outdoor nuptials. Here’s a photo of their picture-perfect day. You can see the door behind the happy couple.

After the wedding, they were super generous to let us bring the amazing door to the farm! And now, it is at home as the portal to the pantry!

As you can see, we also moved a bank of drawers from the old kitchen in beside the range to give us a landing zone and work space. The counter top is also from the old kitchen…but was cut from a larger piece to fit on top of the drawers. Works for me!

Many moons ago (not long after we bought the house), I purchased a contemporary stainless range hood from Costco.com. It hadn’t  come out of the shipping container or its box until Jeff and his friend/electrician Andy came over and installed it for us (the electricians who re-wired the house for us ran the electrical for the hood).

We decided to use left over duct work from the basement for the hood’s inner workings. The contemporary look of the hood itself continues above the appliance with a 15-inch-tall cover, but then the duct work is visible as it goes into the pantry and out the exterior wall. It looks pretty cool with the corrugated tin on the wall!

Peeling the protective white plastic coating off the stainless was such a satisfying experience (I know. I’m weird.).

Now, I can hear you asking, “But Lacey, why did you center the hood on the wall and not over your stove?” Here’s your answer: This is not the final arrangement of the kitchen! The range will stay on this wall, but with new,  narrow cabinets on either side. So eventually, the range will be centered under the hood. Make sense? And, yes, the current set up is a serious upset to my desire for symmetry. But having a plan in mind helps me damper the yelling in my head.

With the addition of an awesome magnetic knife and tool holder Ben found on Amazon, we are ready to cook!

Here it is! The range wall and pantry door in all its reclaimed splendor! Right now, the contemporary design of the hood may seem a bit out of place. But when the new cabinets and, eventually a stainless range, are in place, it will be a wonderful mix of vintage and modern.

For now, we’re cookin!