A black kitchen, pale cypress and caned cabinetry, and earth-toned furnishings are among the details that complement the brick walls marked with plaster and paint inside this residence in Charleston, South Carolina.

Located on the city's Bee's Row, the 2,000-square-foot (180-square-metre) Carriage House was built during the 1800s as a kitchen house – a small outbuilding used to prepare food for the main residence.

Father-and-son team Jim and Chris Sloggatt bought the property and transformed it into a two-storey residence. US design studio Workstead was enlisted to design the interiors following the renovation.

The tarnished brickwork walls hark back to the history of the building and are complemented by a number of rough details, like white-painted wooden ceiling and beams, and exposed piping and ductwork.

Other preserved features include a pair of gas fireplaces – previously used for cooking – on the ground floor, which is now an open-plan kitchen, living and dining room.

Workstead chose to make the kitchen the main feature of this level, selecting dark black cabinetry as a stark contrast to the exposed brickwork that runs along the longer walls.

Storage units detailed with hand-turned wooden handles slot underneath the staircase, facing the central kitchen island. The counter is topped with white marble and has an inlet cut into the underside to provide space for bar stools.

"A brand new kitchen serves as literal and figurative hearth of the home, with cabinetry tucked under the stairs and a grand island providing the counter around which life revolves," said Workstead in a statement.

Cypress and caned cabinets are built around a window on the back wall of the room to create a "cosy window seat". It faces a circular, dark wooden dining table decorated with a stone plant pot, resembling the crumbling plaster.

More of this pale wooden cabinetry is tucked into a nook between the two fireplaces on the other side of the room, where the lounge is furnished with a green sofa, and leather and wooden chairs.

Glass doors bring natural light into the room and open onto a brick courtyard outside. Another set of doors lead into the adjoining guest bedroom, which is completely covered in cypress panels.

Wooden panelling also lines many of the walls on the first floor, where an office, library, bathroom, and master bedroom with an en-suite are located.

The bedroom continues the simple rustic aesthetic of downstairs with a dark wooden bed frame, suede-like linen and planting, as well as a pair of cypress and caned closets.

A black and white marble sink unit in the bathroom also draws similarities to the kitchen, with other details including a pair of curved mirrors with metallic frames, golden faucets and draping planting.

Workstead is lead by husband and wife Robert Highsmith and Stefanie Brechbuehler, and has studios in both Brooklyn and Charleston. The design team works on a variety of projects, from interiors to furniture and lighting – including lights that feature movable metal reflectors and another set of lamps bolted together from metal rods.

The port city of Charleston dates back to 1670, and has an impressive collection of historic buildings. US design studio Basic Projects recently gutted a restaurant in the city to transform its the dark interior into an eclectic, light-filled dining space.

Photography is by Jeff Holt.