The kitchen was originally poorly designed, and did not hold space efficiency. Indeed, “the existing kitchen was a good size [measuring approximately 15′x15′], but not lay out well at all”. “In order to give them additional storage at arm’s length, we took out a structural wall to include the custom floor-to-ceiling cabinets, a matching wood-paneled Sub-Zero refrigerator, additional storage and a desk that serves as a planning center”. We installed a new island topped with granite, angling it to aid traffic and add visual interest. She feels it further helps anchor the kitchen design, tying it together in terms of function and aesthetics. We also angled the perimeter tops in the same granite to give each spouse his/her own space. “They cook and entertain a lot, collaborating most when entertaining. And, the husband’s quite a cook, so he needs his own space in the kitchen, just as the wife does”. To that end, she divided the kitchen into different work centers/areas instead of setting up traditional work triangles. This way each spouse can work together or separately on different dishes or an entire meal without getting in each other’s way.

There is a cook center, prep center and clean-up center. Each skin a variety of appliances that include a U-Line wine cooler, a Vent-a-Hood ventilation hood and Thermador cook top, and a Kitchen Aid oven and dishwasher. She tucked the Kitchen Aid microwave away in a base cabinet, as it is mostly used to heat food when the on-the-go owners don’t have the time to cook. A warming drawer finishes the kitchen’s appliance match. Task-specific and other specialized storage options, such as pull-outs and deep drawers for pots and pans, complete each work center and the new pantry. The owners are now able to view what they have in that pantry at a look; everything is at their fingertips. In particular, the wife “loves” the new pantry area, which also has a special sideways pull-out that houses small appliances. It keeps them at the owners’ fingertips, and cleverly conceals them when not in use.

The custom, natural, buried-panel cabinetry is replete with stainless steel hardware and under cabinet lighting. The lighting in the room consists of recessed cans, as well as some “neat,” contemporary track lighting along with some pendants. All of the cabinetry features under cabinet task lighting, as well. While there is no direct natural light in the kitchen, it is immersed in light from the expanse of glass in the adjacent dining room, which overlooks a garden area in the plot. Warm Front our aesthetic improvements also begin and end with the custom cabinetry.

“The kindness of the cabinets is really the first thing you see as you enter the new kitchen, and the wife is thrilled with that”. She characterizes the new kitchen’s style as modern, explaining it this way: “It borders on contemporary, but it’s definitely not ‘extreme’ contemporary. It has the warmth of the mahogany cabinets, with shiny granite countertops that give the kitchen lots of movement and visual interest, as well as its subtle color palette: warm copper and gold with some black accents.” “The type and use of granite created a direct contrast to the simple beauty of the cabinets”. “And to keep the room’s classic contemporary style, we ran the granite up the wall to the base of the upper cabinets, giving the room a smooth, simple, yet elegant look”. In short, the result is “classic, contemporary, and warm inviting… The owners love being in there and benefiting from the functionality of the room. Everything is within sight range and easily accessible, and they find cooking together easier because they no longer get in each other’s way”.