African Paduak with ebony accents steals the show in this African influenced entertaining kitchen. The space started as a typical 70's vintage divided living room, dining room, & kitchen. All of the spaces were smaller than the client desired and were especially restrictive for entertaining. Removing all of the walls alone would have created a large enough space, but a large space with a flat ceiling at just below 8' high has a bit of a stunted feel. We solved the ceiling height problem by dropping new scissor-type roof trusses in next to the existing flat-bottom trusses and then cutting out the flat bottoms, leaving the nicely vaulted ceilings and the visual space we needed. Skylights added a splash of natural light. The new great room is a very comfortable entertaining space that still accommodates all of the original functions, but does it in a spacious, stylish, and functional manner.