{"id":2209,"date":"2025-11-19T01:50:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/11\/19\/6-country-kitchens-by-star-remodelers-and-house-flippers-amanda-pays-and-corbin-bernsen\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T01:50:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T17:50:53","slug":"6-country-kitchens-by-star-remodelers-and-house-flippers-amanda-pays-and-corbin-bernsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/6-country-kitchens-by-star-remodelers-and-house-flippers-amanda-pays-and-corbin-bernsen\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Landelijke keukens van de sterren Amanda Pays en Corbin Bernsen"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen say they\u2019ve lost count of the remodeling projects they\u2019ve taken on together. But we\u2019ve clocked at least eight full house resuscitations in the last decade or so.<\/p>\n

The couple met in 1988 as actors and early in their relationship, when Amanda recommended a new look for Corbin\u2019s bachelor pad, they discovered a surprise calling as design collaborators. Amanda grew up in London where she learned how to overhaul houses from her talent agent father, and Corbin became a skilled carpenter under his godfather\u2019s tutelage in the years before making it in Hollywood. The two love giving houses sensitive, cost-conscious makeovers; living in them for a bit; and then moving on.<\/p>\n

They plan the spaces together, Corbin takes on a lot of the actual hands-on work, and Amanda orchestrates the finishing details, from color palettes to furnishings and coat hooks. They see walls and think about removing them: they like their rooms to flow. But little goes to waste in their projects\u2014they were early adopters of the \u201crestore, recycle, reuse\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

In recent years, they\u2019ve moved from Los Angeles, where they raised their four sons, to New York\u2019s Hudson Valley, where they\u2019ve been on a remodeling tear. They also have a family place in the South of France, which they say is the one spot they\u2019ll never sell. A unifying element is all of their projects is a beckoning, timeless country kitchen designed for cooking and gathering. Today, we\u2019re taking a look back at six of these spots<\/p>\n

Scrap Wood and Stainless Steel in Los Angeles<\/h3>\n


Above: We first met Amanda back in 2012, when she submitted photos of their newly complete Studio City kitchen to our reader design contest. We featured it in our first book,
\nRemodelista: Een handleiding voor de doordachte woning<\/em>, as a model of upcycled design.  The cabinets are composed of old barn wood acquired from a salvage yard with vintage pulls (purchased at a swap meet: 50 for $25) and Corbin built the over-the-stove shelves out of scaffolding boards purchased from their contractor for $10 a plank. <\/p>\n

A pair of toolshed tables from the Rose Bowl Flea Market form the base of the island; it has a stainless steel top and a new painted wood shelf underneath: the whole thing, Amanda says, totaled $200. Admiring the stove\u2019s cement tiles? They\u2019re from Badia Design, a North Hollywood Moroccan imports store. Photograph by Matthew Williams for Remodelista.<\/p>\n

,<\/p>\n

Plaster-Finished Open Storage in the South of France<\/h3>\n


Above: Amanda says they begin work on old houses by \u201cstripping away the bad design decisions of the past and saving as many original details as possible.\u201d At Mas Maroc, their beloved French farmhouse near the border with Spain, they went with a stripped-back kitchen with cast concrete counters, a double farmhouse sink, and plaster-finished island and fridge frame. <\/p>\n

Amanda\u2019s go-to interior colors are white on the walls (she likes Sydney Harbour\u2019s Plaster of Paris and Benjamin Moore\u2019s Decorator\u2019s White and Simply White \u2014and pale gray floors. Fixtures and appliances came from Leroy Merlin, \u201cFrance\u2019s answer to Home Depot.\u201d Photography by Tim Beddow from Open House<\/em> by Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen, by permission of Gibbs Smith.<\/p>\n


Above: A plaster open sideboard holds dishes; the wooden crates store wine and extra glasses are kept in a wall-hung antique medicine cabinet. Note the pale gray painted backsplash that anchors the corner. To see more, go to A Family House in France, Hollywood Edition. Photography by Tim Beddow from
\nOpen House<\/em> by Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen, by permission of Gibbs Smith. <\/p>\n

Ikea Customized in Hudson Valley, NY, House Flip #1<\/h3>\n

,

Above: In 2019, after experiencing their family\u2019s first white Christmas in upstate New York, Amanda and Corbin decided to stay put. They spent a month touring properties before committing to this 1880s farmhouse in Germantown. The new kitchen has Ikea cabinets\u2014with Ikea\u2019s vertical-grooved Hittarp fronts in an off-white lacquer that Amanda painted herself (Kilz primer followed by two coats of Benjamin Moore\u2019s Chelsea Gray in a satin finish). <\/p>\n

Amanda found the center island marble slab on Craig\u2019s List for $150 and drove two hours in a U-Haul to get it. The dining table is one of their Brimfield purchases. Photograph by Rebecca Westby.<\/p>\n


Above: Amanda finished the cabinets with painted wooden knobs from Home Depot. She also got the Kitchen Aid stove and other appliances from Home Depot: \u201cI go when they\u2019re having a buy two get the third free sale.\u201d Photograph by Rebecca Westby. <\/p>\n

English-Style Order in Hudson Valley, NY, House Flip #2<\/h3>\n


Above: In an 1880 New York farmhouse that the couple bought from afar\u2014two of their sons toured it for them\u2014the kitchen cabinetry was built to Corbin\u2019s design by carpenter Ross Brown of Romber Works. It\u2019s painted Behr\u2019s Black Bamboo and the produce and bread drawers are detailed with decorative and practical ventilation holes\u2014\u201da very British thing,\u201d says Amanda.,<\/p>\n

The appliances are all KitchenAid and were bought as a bulk package from P.C. Richard: Amanda advises \u201cdo your research and see if they can match another deal you\u2019ve found. And buy appliances as a package\u2013it saves a ton.\u201d See Saving (and Splurging) with Style for the full house tour. Photography by The Lillie K. Team.<\/p>\n

A Barn Red Kitchen and a Barn Kitchen in Hudson Valley, NY, House Flip #3<\/h3>\n


Above: Barnswood, a 1910 farm estate in Germantown, NY, is the couple\u2019s latest love \u2019em and leave \u2019em project. The cabinets\u2014in a similar red used on the exterior\u2014were built to Amanda\u2019s specs by their local cabinetmaker Ross Brown. An apron-front, ceramic farmhouse sink\u2014classic but not a brand name\u2014is an element Amanda plants in all of her kitchens. But she often splurges on deVol\u2019s Antique Ionian Tap faucets.
\n

Above: Corbin and Amanda opened the kitchen to the dining room and connected the two with a built-in bar. Note the couple\u2019s signature leftover wood overhead shelves.
\n

Above: They converted the farm\u2019s large barn into a multipurpose space\u2014office, gym, party room\u2014that can easily be converted into living quarters. Fittingly, they gave it a kitchen made of barn wood.
\n

Above: Amanda and Corbin at home (for the time being) in Germantown. He stars in the thriller
\nLaura Louise<\/em> out this month. Photograph by Jessica Dube. <\/p>\n

The couple have been very generous about sharing their remodeling secrets:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 11 geldbesparende strategie\u00ebn van een Hollywood House Flipper<\/li>\n
  • Expert Advice: Corbin Bernsen, Star Handyman<\/li>\n
  • Rehab Diary: Amanda Pays and Corbin Bernsen Air Their Dirty Laundry<\/li>\n
  • The Backyard Bunkhouse, Hollywood Royal Family Edition<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Amanda Pays en Corbin Bernsen zeggen dat ze de tel kwijt zijn van de verbouwingsprojecten die ze samen hebben gedaan. Maar we hebben minstens acht reanimaties van een volledig huis genoteerd in de afgelopen tien jaar. Het stel ontmoette elkaar in 1988 als acteurs en vroeg in hun relatie, toen Amanda een nieuwe look aanraadde voor Corbins vrijgezellenwoning, [...]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interior-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}