ANITA RESIDENCE The designers have achieved an organic feeling of light, warmth, and openness through careful choice of materials and use of light and space. Backlit, sandblasted-glass cabinet doors are set in dark-stained custom oak cabinetry, creating high contrast in the 17 x 22-square-foot kitchen. The ample, soft light casts a warm glow on the new Viking stainless-steel appliances. The wenge-like dark wood? continued in a desk alcove, baseboard molding, picture frame, and door frame?provides a rich contrast to pale oak floors and Cesarstone composite countertops and backsplash. (Less porous than limestone, Cesarstone was chosen for its durability in this high-use area.) Removing the wall to the dining room opened up the space, giving it the feeling of a great room while at the same time allowing in additional outdoor light. An island with built-in wine cooler to accommodate the owners’ extensive wine collection offers an ingenious, multi-purpose space-saving solution and provides a seamless transition to the dining area. Diffused glass is used to obscure the bottles. The master bath echoes the kitchen detailing. Rich contrast is again achieved through dark-stained oak cabinetry, framed mirrors and floating shelves juxtaposed against limestone floors and countertops. Durable, fire-etched glass windows adjacent to the bathtub allow the room to be flooded with natural light while providing necessary privacy. Fire-etched glass also encloses the toilet. An illusion of extra space and feeling of openness is created with a clear glass shower enclosure at one end and fire-etched glass doors at the other end that open up to a sitting room. Location Los Angeles, California Principal Architects Robin Donaldson AIA Russell Shubin AIA Photographer James Gabbard 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez. Suite 200. Santa Barbara, CA 93103 T: 805.966.2802 3834 Willat Avenue. Culver City, CA 90232 T: 310.204.0688 Loreto Bay, Baja Mexico
When the kitchen requires and island, modern choices such as this keep the look simple and eliminate the need for more furniture by doing double duty. The "wine cellar" side gives culture and class to this island.
The deep browns, while the predominant shade, do not overpower due to the light flooring, upper light doors, light countertop, and extensive wine collection, an interesting texture.
If you have a fairly large collection of white wines or sparkling wines, which happen to be the most vulnerable to change when exposed to light and heat, consider building several coolers into a large island.
8. Under the counter. Move into the kitchen to keep wine at hand for cooking and casual meals. Install wine refrigeration units under a kitchen island to cool the whites and regulate the reds.
Interesting how upper cabinets extend over refrigerator, but not over oven. Also good idea to place microwave on shelf between refrigerator and oven with some counter top beneath and shelving above.