Forest Green Cabin Kitchen Remodel: Achieving the Rustic Modern Design Balance

Designing for Modern Family Life:

For this family of four from the Twin Cities, their cabin is a cherished place to escape, unwind, and spend quality time together. Their goal was to transform a dated space into a functional kitchen that supports their active family life, a perfect embodiment of our motto: "Designing homes for family life, inspired by today’s modern living."

Removing the upper cabinets not only expanded the visual space but opened up the sightlines to the surrounding forest. When you're managing a busy household, a clear view and a light-filled room help reduce mental clutter, making this lake house kitchen a genuinely peaceful retreat.

Our mission for this cabin kitchen remodel was to fuse the home’s cozy rustic character with a fresh, contemporary aesthetic, ensuring the final result was tranquil, highly functional, and built for modern family needs.

For the full photo gallery and material details from our partners, be sure to check out the feature article: SemiStories.

The Three Pillars of Rustic Modern Kitchen Design

Attracting busy families means proving the design is smart, not just stylish. Here are the three non-negotiable decisions that helped us achieve a balanced rustic modern kitchen design focused on function.

1. Bringing the Outdoors In: The Forest Green Cabinet Choice

The single most impactful design decision was the cabinet color. Given the home's deep ties to the surrounding woods, we knew the cabinetry needed to be a nature-inspired hue that would harmonize with the existing warm wood elements.

• The Intentional Shade: We used the Semihandmade DIY Slab doors as a canvas, painting them in Magnolia Home Lemon Leaves. This deep shade of forest green kitchen cabinets acts as a sophisticated neutral, instantly connecting the interior with the exterior environment.

• The Result for the Family: This color choice creates a calming, organic mood essential for a true cabin escape, reinforcing the feeling of tranquility the family sought when leaving the city.

2. Trading Clutter for Clear Views: Open Shelving and Visual Flow

A key requirement for any modern family life design is simplicity. The original upper cabinets made the room feel dated and visually heavy, directly conflicting with the open, airy feeling the clients needed for their relaxation space.

A look into the kitchen before the remodel. Heavy upper cabinets have been removed in favor of open views.

• The Strategic Move: We removed the traditional upper cabinetry and replaced it with custom, streamlined shelving.

• The Benefit for Busy Families: This is a crucial strategy for any open shelving kitchen remodel. It not only expanded the visual space but opened up the sightlines to the surrounding forest. When you're managing a busy household, a clear view and a light-filled room help reduce mental clutter, making this lake house kitchen a genuinely peaceful retreat.

3. Smart Layout: Functionality Built for Modern Living

The heart of "Designing homes for family life" is making the space work hard. When parents are busy, the kitchen cannot be a source of frustration.

• Dedicated Storage: To make up for the storage loss from the floating shelves, we added deep, dedicated drawers and a full pantry. For modern living, every item must have a clear home, allowing for quick cleanup so the family can transition easily to quality time.

• Essential Efficiency: We prioritized smooth function by slightly repositioning the range to allow for a specialized cabinet housing an efficient trash and recycling system. These small, smart layout changes are what elevate the space, ensuring the family spends less time dealing with kitchen logistics and more time simply enjoying their cabin.

We removed the traditional upper cabinetry and replaced it with custom, streamlined shelving.

A Functional Retreat for Busy Families

By focusing on deep green nature-inspired colors, clear sightlines, and optimized functionality, this project delivers a kitchen that is beautiful, durable, and perfectly supports the modern family life of our clients.

It achieves that seamless rustic modern design balance—a contemporary aesthetic that serves as a truly comfortable, functional, and inviting family retreat.

Want to see more of this gorgeous space? Click here to view the full gallery, design notes, and materials list in the original feature on SemiStories!