Kitchen of the Week: Warehouse Roots Inspire a Manhattan Loft

Montauk black slate countertops contrast with white cabinetry. The cabinet faces are ash and are stained — instead of painted — white, so the grain is still visible. Hewn oak on the front of the island matches the custom flooring.

Although the family wanted more storage, they also wanted their new kitchen to have a clean look, so Schappacher and his team put in a pantry right behind the kitchen. The left and right end panels on the backsplash have pivoting windows that open up into the hidden pantry space, allowing the family to pass items back and forth.

Bar stools: Restoration Hardware; side table: clients' own; oven: Miele; range: Viking

Around the corner a wet bar helps take some of the entertaining load off the kitchen. Most of the same materials were used for cohesiveness — including the slate counters and ash cabinetry — but Schappacher used crackled subway tile from Artistic Tile for the new backsplash. Charcoal-colored grout highlights the cracks in each tile.

A wall treatment Schappacher calls "liquid metal" ties in with the rest of the warehouse-inspired materials — including the custom iron capitals and bases on the columns. Schappacher had a custom metal fabricator use hot-rolled sheets of steel and chemically age them for this unique look.