Our client bought an older expansive bungalow in a semi-rural setting with a stunning waterfront backyard. This beautiful setting became the foundation for our open concept Kitchen and Family Room Design. Besides the usual functional requirements, the client wanted a ‘Rock Star’ visual kitchen to complement an eclectic collection of Mid-Century Furniture and objects.

The kitchen design needed to accommodate this family with young but growing children. The former separated dining room was changed to a library/lounge and the family table was moved to the kitchen. Additional seating was added with a stunning walnut bar top, spanning the full 10’ of the island. Additional room ‘sculpting’ created an interesting wall of varying depths for the kitchen and provided storage and visual interest in the long hall behind.

A strong orientation to the exterior was created using a center alignment of the sink and cooktop. Some pleasant tension is provided by using asymmetrical elements in the rest of the design. Despite being a very large (370 sq. ft) kitchen, the work triangle is the ideal 19’. Food storage is provided with pull out pantries that surround the fridge and freezer. Dish storage is in a very convenient dish pantry beside the dishwasher and table. Additional dishes are stored in the asymmetrical upper cabinet, cooking dishes are stored in extra wide drawers on both sides of the kitchen. The reclaimed wide plank oak hardwood floor provides a rustic and comfortable grounding to the crisp modernism of the kitchen.

The kitchen features a ‘bridge’ design of walnut cabinetry surrounding the pro-style fridge and freezer. Other appliances are clustered with demi-tall pantries and form an interesting linear definition that suits the ‘long’ room of kitchen and family room. A walnut eating bar and walnut interior for the dish pantry complete the triad of walnut in the kitchen. High gloss white cabinets featuring handle-free design are topped with gray quartz. The stunning Noble Grey Light Marble backsplash is installed with a horizontal grain to complement the linear definition.

The adjacent Great Room features an offset linear fireplace that is balanced with a substantial walnut entertainment unit. The awkward and unmovable doorway was incorporated into the design to create the effect of a unit that is much larger than it actually is. The walnut wood matches the kitchen but is installed with a horizontal grain, repeating the character of the kitchen backsplash.

Design Challenges that we overcame in this Kitchen renovation:

-only two walls to work with; we used all tall elements on the far wall balancing the tall element of the fireplace wall.

-a very long wall of windows that have an overpowering presence, the scale and varying depths of kitchen creates its own powerful presence.

-change in floor level of kitchen and great room, we extended the floor to make a very generous eating are without compromising the great room.

-the oven tower could not be used with the fridges without destroying that symmetry, we used the demi-tall cabinet configuration for the corner pantry and ovens.