There’s a lot—perhaps too much—to say about Aya Kitchens and Designer Scott Eunson’s space at #IIDEX09, so I’ll take one deep breath and do my best to be concise: an innovative branch of Aya’s “Rustic” line, the marvel of sustainable/re-claimed materials, FSC-certified raw goods, and formaldehyde-free EVO cabinetry, the kitchen is an intriguing synthesis of the old (maple, elm, oak, and slate) and the new (Eunson’s unique hand-crafting that reveals a magnified rendition of the cellular imprints of oak).

Rustic Collection. Manufactured by Aya Kitchens.

If the latter seems a bit enigmatic, suffice it to say that Eunson developed a technique to duplicate the microscopic footprint of wood and re-produce the look fifty-fold. The result is the “beyond vintage” aesthetic of his vertically-lined, chocolate-accented cabinets, which—to my eyes—manage to look both aged and modern at once.

This fusion is a nifty trick, and perhaps the best explanation for the kitchen’s immensely appealing if inscrutable aesthetic. Paired with the “Two Barns Table”—a formidable maple and elm affair assembled from the salvaged beams and floor joists of a pair of recently dismantled homesteads—the kitchen becomes an eminently versatile updating of the very notion of vintage. Throw in the leathered greystone countertops and slate backsplash and you have the makings of an authentic coup d’état: an eco-wise kitchen that’s equally at home in a Soho loft or a Telluride condo. How’s that for genre-bending re-invention!