Carl and Karin Bullard had lived in their Shreveport home for 12 years when they decided to completely remodel their kitchen last year. Karin wasn’t sure what direction she wanted to go in until she saw a magazine layout of a rustic, European-style kitchen. That decided the concept, but she needed someone to make her concept work.

The home was originally designed by Jeb Breithaupt, of JEB Design/Build in Shreveport. The Bullards had seen the work the company did on other projects and knew it would be a quality job.

“I had a good base of what I wanted and they just took it from there and made it better,” said Karin. “We worked with Angie (Jackson) and the experience was just wonderful. I had my ideas but I didn’t know how to implement them. Once they had my ideas they took it and said they could do it. It was never of a question of what could not happen.”

One of the most unique features of the new kitchen is the arch cut into the wall in front of the stove. It mimics the new columns with arches that were built in the dining room. The arch is built from brick and tile and has small shelves for spices.

Another eye-catching feature in the new kitchen is the farmhouse sink. It is not an ornate sink, but is striking in its simplicity and size. Its placement in the kitchen makes it a focal point.

It is easy to like everything about a kitchen that is so attractive, but Karin Bullard has a few favorites.

“The archway and the granite are probably my favorite parts,” she said.  “The archway is just the focal point of it. I love the farmhouse sink. Friends always comment on that farmhouse sink and that archway. The sink is not just an everyday sink.”

The granite that Bullard is so fond of is a unique, brown granite that has a soft look to it and lots of large movement in the pattern. This granite woks well with the handmade ceramic tile that was chosen for the kitchen. Each tile has color variation in the glaze.

The cabinets in the kitchen are off-white and slightly distressed, so they don’t look too new and add to the rustic European look of the kitchen.

Jackson, a project consultant for JEB Design/Build, said kitchens are one of her favorite things to work on because of all the little details.

“I like all the little special touches,” she said. “Imagine everything in your kitchen being exactly how you want it. If you have a drawer for your pots and pans, we measure your pots and pans and build the drawer for those. You tallest pan fits in there. There is a spot for your cookie sheets and all of your spices are exactly where you want them. It is really neat…people live so often in houses that aren’t built for them.”

The Bullard’s kitchen has several special little details that make it a truly customized space. Beside the stove, there is a pull-out spice rack that blends in perfectly with the cabinets. At the prep sink, there is a pull-out sponge drawer that keeps the necessities handy but out of sight

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“When bought the house, we knew Jeb had built it and we knew he had some unique features in the house— was real creative,” Karin said. Now she has a unique kitchen and she loves it.

“It is amazing,” she said.