How 3 Design Pros Customized Their Own Kitchens
These designers chose palettes, materials and layouts tailored to their personal tastes and lifestyles
These three design pros treated themselves like clients, customizing their own kitchens to suit their personal styles and the way their families function. In a midcentury California home, an interior designer and her husband loved the zing of bold red and made some special accommodations for bird and rabbit food. An artful open-shelf system in front of the windows maximized an architect and her husband’s favorite views of Minnesota’s Lake Minnetonka. And along the Jersey Shore, an interior designer needed the kitchen to stand up to her active family of seven and keep them all organized. Here’s a peek at how these pros live in their own homes.
Because the floor plan of their midcentury modern home is open, the kitchen needed to provide a nice view from the living area. Streamlined cabinetry and brushed stainless steel accents complement the home’s original architecture with updated style.
The kitchen space also needed to incorporate the couple’s dining table (left). Using matching cloud-like Logico light fixtures over the table, sink and island helped tie the spaces together. And new sideboard-like cabinetry and a tall pullout bar cabinet close to the table, as well as a wine cooler and cocktail supplies in the table-facing side of the island, serve the dining area well when the couple entertain.
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The kitchen space also needed to incorporate the couple’s dining table (left). Using matching cloud-like Logico light fixtures over the table, sink and island helped tie the spaces together. And new sideboard-like cabinetry and a tall pullout bar cabinet close to the table, as well as a wine cooler and cocktail supplies in the table-facing side of the island, serve the dining area well when the couple entertain.
Learn more about this kitchen
They have two pet-food-only refrigerated drawers to keep the special dietary needs of their two African gray parrots and mini lop rabbit organized and readily accessible. Every cabinet’s function was carefully planned — including a tilt-out for stoppers and sponges under the sink; a half-moon lazy Susan in the corner; vertical slots for baking sheets, cutting boards and trays; and a trash and recycling pullout. The custom cabinetry along the dining room area is only 21 inches deep, leaving room for the table to fit comfortably.
2. Architect Creates Expansive Water Views in Minnesota
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Laurie and Doug Kruhoeffer
Location: On Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota
Size: 340 square feet (32 square meters), not including the walk-in pantry
Designers: Laurie Kruhoeffer in collaboration with Colby Mattson and Marcy Townsend of Charlie & Co. Design (architect), Kroiss Development (builder) and Jennifer Horstman of Lenox House Design (project manager)
Architect Laurie Kruhoeffer had a clear and detailed vision of the kitchen she wanted in the home she designed for her family on Lake Minnetonka. The room is full of custom details, the most striking being the brass-and-ash open shelves in front of the windows.
“We wanted to maximize our views of the lake, so we didn’t want upper cabinets. And I like the current movement toward clean and simple dishes and glassware — we can see right through our glassware,” she says.
The weight of the shelves and their contents had to be accommodated during the framing stage of construction. Channels carved into the bottom of the shelves contain LED lights. Clay Beardshear of Live Oak Ironworks completed the custom metalwork.
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Laurie and Doug Kruhoeffer
Location: On Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota
Size: 340 square feet (32 square meters), not including the walk-in pantry
Designers: Laurie Kruhoeffer in collaboration with Colby Mattson and Marcy Townsend of Charlie & Co. Design (architect), Kroiss Development (builder) and Jennifer Horstman of Lenox House Design (project manager)
Architect Laurie Kruhoeffer had a clear and detailed vision of the kitchen she wanted in the home she designed for her family on Lake Minnetonka. The room is full of custom details, the most striking being the brass-and-ash open shelves in front of the windows.
“We wanted to maximize our views of the lake, so we didn’t want upper cabinets. And I like the current movement toward clean and simple dishes and glassware — we can see right through our glassware,” she says.
The weight of the shelves and their contents had to be accommodated during the framing stage of construction. Channels carved into the bottom of the shelves contain LED lights. Clay Beardshear of Live Oak Ironworks completed the custom metalwork.
Kruhoeffer added another peek out a window through the glass cabinet doors on the right. Other custom details include leather pulls on some of the cabinetry, a custom-framed, hand-plastered vent hood and curved millwork that mimics braces she designed for the the home’s exterior. And knowing how she and her husband like to work together in the kitchen, she gave him a spacious prep station next to the 45-inch sink.
The architect concentrated lots of storage, a panel-front fridge and a concealed coffee and tea bar along the back interior wall. Then she designed a view-worthy pantry lined in custom grooved ash paneling. The clear glass pantry door lines up flush with the cabinets. The door and a window in the space mean she doesn’t need to click on a light in there during the day, and she can take a quick peek through the glass before grocery shopping to make sure she doesn’t buy staples that are already well stocked.
Learn more about this kitchen
Learn more about this kitchen
3. Beach House Durability for an Interior Designer’s Family on the Jersey Shore
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the vacation home of interior designer Jules Duffy, husband Lawrence and their five children
Location: New Jersey Shore
Size: 280 square feet (26 square meters)
Interior designer Jules Duffy and her family of seven’s beach house at the Jersey Shore managed to survive Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but a few years later their kitchen was destroyed by flooding from a burst pipe. A few months after their renovation was complete, five more pipes burst and ruined it again. This bad news gave Duffy a chance to make a few adjustments that improved on the design (and prompted them to improve their winterization strategy).
In the transitional-style kitchen, she based her design plan on driftwood-inspired neutrals accentuated by navy blue, turquoise and coral in the accessories. As for function, durability was the priority — five kids, two adults and the beach equal a lot of wear and tear. The durable chipped travertine floor from the first remodel was the only thing that survived the flood. “This floor shows nothing. We come in with sandy feet all the time,” Duffy says.
Other material choices that didn’t make the cut this go-round included a marble island countertop. She realized her family had been too precious about it, so she swapped in durable quartz. And she felt the flat subway tile she’d chosen for the backsplash didn’t have enough character, so she used a hand-molded subway tile instead.
What to do when your pipes freeze
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: This is the vacation home of interior designer Jules Duffy, husband Lawrence and their five children
Location: New Jersey Shore
Size: 280 square feet (26 square meters)
Interior designer Jules Duffy and her family of seven’s beach house at the Jersey Shore managed to survive Hurricane Sandy in 2012, but a few years later their kitchen was destroyed by flooding from a burst pipe. A few months after their renovation was complete, five more pipes burst and ruined it again. This bad news gave Duffy a chance to make a few adjustments that improved on the design (and prompted them to improve their winterization strategy).
In the transitional-style kitchen, she based her design plan on driftwood-inspired neutrals accentuated by navy blue, turquoise and coral in the accessories. As for function, durability was the priority — five kids, two adults and the beach equal a lot of wear and tear. The durable chipped travertine floor from the first remodel was the only thing that survived the flood. “This floor shows nothing. We come in with sandy feet all the time,” Duffy says.
Other material choices that didn’t make the cut this go-round included a marble island countertop. She realized her family had been too precious about it, so she swapped in durable quartz. And she felt the flat subway tile she’d chosen for the backsplash didn’t have enough character, so she used a hand-molded subway tile instead.
What to do when your pipes freeze
The renovation provided an opportunity for the designer to carve out a much-needed mudroom space within the kitchen’s footprint. “We used to trip over shoes we’d kicked off by the door and dump things on the table all the time,” Duffy says. Now there are cubbies, hooks and baskets for corralling beach towels, hats, sunscreen, flip-flops and other beach items. The baskets on the counter are lined up in front of plugs so everyone can charge their devices without clutter.
To the right of the mudroom built-ins is a new dining area with a custom banquette that wraps the corner. Duffy added a beachy touch by using tongue-and-groove paneling on the back of the banquette. The drum shade was a purchase for a client that had arrived dented. So she picked up a pendant light kit, wrapped the wire and shade in twine and fashioned a nautical light out of it. The chairs are another durable and practical choice — they’re commercial-grade.
The painting by local artist Theresa Losa reminds family members of the special event where they bought it. “For years after Hurricane Sandy, everyone was still recovering and felt isolated. Then there was a big local gallery event that was the first big artistic happening since the hurricane,” Duffy says. “Over 500 people turned out. It was a feel-good moment that brought the community together and made us feel like everything was going to be OK.”
Learn more about this kitchen
Your turn: Are there any special features you’re testing out in your own kitchen? Has experiencing your own renovation improved the way you help your clients? Please share in the Comments.
More on Houzz
A Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List
See more kitchen tours
Browse millions of kitchen photos for inspiration
The painting by local artist Theresa Losa reminds family members of the special event where they bought it. “For years after Hurricane Sandy, everyone was still recovering and felt isolated. Then there was a big local gallery event that was the first big artistic happening since the hurricane,” Duffy says. “Over 500 people turned out. It was a feel-good moment that brought the community together and made us feel like everything was going to be OK.”
Learn more about this kitchen
Your turn: Are there any special features you’re testing out in your own kitchen? Has experiencing your own renovation improved the way you help your clients? Please share in the Comments.
More on Houzz
A Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List
See more kitchen tours
Browse millions of kitchen photos for inspiration
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Cillesa Ullman and her husband, along with their two African gray parrots and rabbit
Location: Oakland, California
Size: 305 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Cillesa Ullman of Cillesa Interior Design & Space Planning
Sometimes design pros are much like the proverbial cobbler’s kids without any shoes. Oakland, California, interior designer Cillesa Ullman’s full kitchen renovation was many years in the making — 18 years, to be exact. Both she and her husband loved the energizing feeling their existing red kitchen gave them, so the color was the one element they kept.
However, they updated the hue from a brighter red to a deep shade with blue undertones — Ullmann describes Sherwin-Williams’ Chanticleer as “a very grown-up red.” Elegant zebra marble in a herringbone pattern provides rhythm on the backsplash, brushed stainless steel on the cabinet glass adds some shine, and white quartz countertops offer contrast to all that red.