Kitchen of the Week: Large Island Anchors a Family Hub
Beautiful woods, metal finishes and antiqued surfaces create an elegant transitional style in this eat-in kitchen
Becky Harris
June 15, 2018
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
Photo by JVL Photography
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family
Location: Manotick, Ottawa
Size: 182 square feet (17 square meters)
Designer: Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Center
These Ottawa homeowners wanted to make their kitchen a hub for hanging out as a family and for entertaining, but their kitchen was closed off from the rest of the house and didn’t feel inviting. “And like most family households, they needed a place for everything,” says designer Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Center. This meant being strategic about every inch of storage. In the course of a complete remodel, he opened the kitchen to the family room and placed a long, hardworking island in the center. Now it’s a welcoming room where everyone loves to spend time.
The homeowners’ must-haves. They wanted room for two to work in the kitchen together and ample space for wine storage.
Style. The kitchen’s style is transitional: a mix of traditional elements, like crown molding, and contemporary lines. “Overall the house is definitely very traditional,” Kyle says. “The homeowner is originally from Boston, but the kitchen has an Atlanta-like feel — elegant yet family friendly.”
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A young family
Location: Manotick, Ottawa
Size: 182 square feet (17 square meters)
Designer: Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Center
These Ottawa homeowners wanted to make their kitchen a hub for hanging out as a family and for entertaining, but their kitchen was closed off from the rest of the house and didn’t feel inviting. “And like most family households, they needed a place for everything,” says designer Nathan Kyle of Astro Design Center. This meant being strategic about every inch of storage. In the course of a complete remodel, he opened the kitchen to the family room and placed a long, hardworking island in the center. Now it’s a welcoming room where everyone loves to spend time.
The homeowners’ must-haves. They wanted room for two to work in the kitchen together and ample space for wine storage.
Style. The kitchen’s style is transitional: a mix of traditional elements, like crown molding, and contemporary lines. “Overall the house is definitely very traditional,” Kyle says. “The homeowner is originally from Boston, but the kitchen has an Atlanta-like feel — elegant yet family friendly.”
Before. “The kitchen plan had angled walls, medium-brown-toned cabinetry, dark counters and mud-colored Venetian plastered walls,” Kyle says. “The original layout was not as open-concept and they had a small separate eat-in table.” You can catch a tiny sliver of that table on the left side of this photo.
Layout. Kyle got rid of the eat-in area, which made space for a large island. He flipped the island 90 degrees in the plan and lined it up on an axis with the range for a pleasing symmetry. There’s an easy work triangle between the end of the island, with its large, versatile sink, and the range wall, refrigerator and storage wall. The view you see here is now open to the family room, which previously had a wall closing it off from the kitchen. He designed the island with that in mind, providing an attractive view that draws people to it.
Island. The island measures 10 by 5 feet and is birch wood with a dark stain. It incorporates a social eat-in end and a work end, distinguished by different countertops of butcher block and quartz. The work end houses the dishwasher, a microwave drawer, a trash-recycling cabinet and rolling drawers inside the cabinets.
Lighting. In addition to recessed lights, two beautiful statement smoked mercury-glass pendants bring in glamorous shine and a metallic-looking finish.
Quartz countertop: Zodiaq; pendant lights: Lorford Smoke Bell Lantern, Visual Comfort; browse more glass lanterns
Island. The island measures 10 by 5 feet and is birch wood with a dark stain. It incorporates a social eat-in end and a work end, distinguished by different countertops of butcher block and quartz. The work end houses the dishwasher, a microwave drawer, a trash-recycling cabinet and rolling drawers inside the cabinets.
Lighting. In addition to recessed lights, two beautiful statement smoked mercury-glass pendants bring in glamorous shine and a metallic-looking finish.
Quartz countertop: Zodiaq; pendant lights: Lorford Smoke Bell Lantern, Visual Comfort; browse more glass lanterns
Eat-in area. “Integrating the eat-in table function into the island was key in making the kitchen bigger,” Kyle says. This portion of the island has a custom brass-leg base designed at Astro Design Center, and the surface is walnut butcher block. Cushy upholstered stools with backs make the space comfortable to hang out in for hours.
Sink. The work end of the island has a 4-foot-wide Workstation Sink by The Galley. It comes with different inserts for chopping, draining, straining, serving and cleaning that can be placed over different portions of the sink. “It helps recoup lost space on the counter, especially when working on the narrower side of an island,” Kyle says.
Refrigerator wall. The refrigerator wall provides a lot of those places for everything in one concentrated spot — deep rollouts for pantry storage, tray dividers for pans, an appliance cabinet at counter height and a large built-in wine rack. The cabinet to the left of the refrigerator is the small appliance cabinet, placed conveniently at counter height. There are outlets inside. There are glass-front display cabinets at the top that are backed in the same wood Kyle used on the island. To the far left you can see the tall, narrow grid of wine shelves, which breaks up the cabinetry with its pleasing proportions.
Cabinets: Astro Design Center; faucet: Watermark; check out more brass kitchen faucets
Refrigerator wall. The refrigerator wall provides a lot of those places for everything in one concentrated spot — deep rollouts for pantry storage, tray dividers for pans, an appliance cabinet at counter height and a large built-in wine rack. The cabinet to the left of the refrigerator is the small appliance cabinet, placed conveniently at counter height. There are outlets inside. There are glass-front display cabinets at the top that are backed in the same wood Kyle used on the island. To the far left you can see the tall, narrow grid of wine shelves, which breaks up the cabinetry with its pleasing proportions.
Cabinets: Astro Design Center; faucet: Watermark; check out more brass kitchen faucets
Range wall. Kyle placed the interior windows symmetrically around the range. “The openings were designed to feel like windows,” he says. They are fixed panes of glass. Along with the antiqued mirror over the range, they lighten up the space and make it feel more open. And they serve a double purpose, bringing light to a basement stairwell on the other side of the wall.
That antiqued-glass cover is a nice alternative to a typical vent hood. The shape mimics cabinetry and gives the range wall a cohesive look.
Another stunner along the range wall is the backsplash. It is a 3D beveled clay Italian tile in a herringbone pattern. The range wall countertops and lower backsplash are titanium granite.
Tile: Astro Design Center; appliances: GE Monogram; hood: Downsview
That antiqued-glass cover is a nice alternative to a typical vent hood. The shape mimics cabinetry and gives the range wall a cohesive look.
Another stunner along the range wall is the backsplash. It is a 3D beveled clay Italian tile in a herringbone pattern. The range wall countertops and lower backsplash are titanium granite.
Tile: Astro Design Center; appliances: GE Monogram; hood: Downsview
Cabinetry. The cabinets are a mix of inset Shaker style and flat fronts. The warm gray paint coordinates well with the color of the backsplash tile, and its brass hardware picks up on the faucet and eat-in island base.
Finishes. The kitchen has a rich metallic mix of brass, stainless steel and gunmetal. The mercury glass pendant lights add a metallic tone and the antiqued mirror adds another finish. This brings the transitional and glamorous “Atlanta” feel to the kitchen and keeps it from skewing more “Boston” traditional.
Tip: “Mixing metals should be done in a tailored way where it should never feel overwhelming,” Kyle says. “One metal could take precedence but not to the point where it feels like the only finish in the room.” Note here how the hardware finishes are divided by the type of cabinet finish and placement — brass on the painted cabinets around the perimeter, oil-rubbed bronze on the natural wood of the island.
Flooring. The hardwood floors were existing but were refinished during the remodel.
Finishes. The kitchen has a rich metallic mix of brass, stainless steel and gunmetal. The mercury glass pendant lights add a metallic tone and the antiqued mirror adds another finish. This brings the transitional and glamorous “Atlanta” feel to the kitchen and keeps it from skewing more “Boston” traditional.
Tip: “Mixing metals should be done in a tailored way where it should never feel overwhelming,” Kyle says. “One metal could take precedence but not to the point where it feels like the only finish in the room.” Note here how the hardware finishes are divided by the type of cabinet finish and placement — brass on the painted cabinets around the perimeter, oil-rubbed bronze on the natural wood of the island.
Flooring. The hardwood floors were existing but were refinished during the remodel.
Floor plan. Here you can see how everything fits together. Previously there was a wall along the right side of this plan between the family room and the kitchen, which Kyle opened up to make the kitchen more inviting and central to the first floor.
Takeaways
More: Read other Kitchens of the Week
- Consider concentrating storage and bulky appliances along one wall.
- Make sure your counter stools are very comfortable if they are going to serve the only eat-in area in the kitchen.
- If you’re short on counter space, consider a sink that comes with workstation inserts.
- Housing appliances on a countertop concealed by cabinetry keeps countertop clutter away. Make sure to install outlets inside this cabinet.
- If you’re going custom anyway, get creative with your wine storage. It can break up the monolithic characteristic of a wall of cabinets.
- Make a space feel more open and bright by incorporating mirrored or antiqued mirrored glass as well as glass-front cabinets.
- Mix metals freely, letting one be the star and giving the rest strong supporting roles.
More: Read other Kitchens of the Week
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I love the idea of the galley sink and it multi-functionality, but having no counter space to the sides for dirty or clean dishes, and the dishwasher around the side does not seem very functional. I would have preferred to see separate cleaning and prep zones/sinks. There is very limited counter space with cabinetry on the storage wall going down to the counter, even if it is to hide appliances. I personally prefer unobstructed counter space when working and I don't want to work in an appliance cabinet. The storage wall counter is broken up by the refrigerator in the middle of the wall in a narrow 40" aisle. I think the faux windows add dimension and light, but that space could have been used for more storage with upper level cabinetry. The range backsplash seems like a magnet for grease and a nightmare to clean. It almost seems as though the storage wall should be where the range wall is and the range on the storage wall. I'm guessing the family scrapes the dishes into the trash and places them in the dishwasher and it is open to the open space to allow for multiple family members to help. But for anything that has to be washed by hand, or rinsed, the set-up seems awkward to me. I LOVE the microwave drawer. The finishes are beautiful, but it seems that form did not necessarily follow function--at least I would have a difficult time working in this kitchen especially with another person.
Perfect!
This beautiful a great eye opener! I love it!