Kitchen Design
New This Week: 4 Totally Amazing Dream Kitchens
These big kitchens with big design ideas are what dreams are made of
Designer secret. “The style of the kitchen was not at all ideal when the home was purchased,” Valdez says. “However, the cabinets were very good quality, and the appliances were also only a few years old. So, to save money, we filled in the knots on the base cabinets and the tall refrigerator cabinet and painted them in black and white lacquer paint finishes to make them look new. We remade all-new upper cabinets, a new range hood and a new kitchen island to match the existing door style of the original cabinets and painted them the same colors. Now, it’s almost impossible to determine which cabinets were new and which were existing. This was a huge cost savings without sacrificing the design aesthetic at all.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “When we demoed the 2,000-pound rock-range hearth that surrounded the existing 48-inch-wide range, we realized the existing base cabinets that we were going to reuse were 39 inches tall,” Valdez says. “The standard height for base cabinets and appliances is only 36 inches tall. Our 36-inch-tall range suddenly looked dwarfed by the tall base cabinets next to it. So we put our heads together with our talented cabinetmaker and decided to build a 3-inch-tall platform for the range to sit on to raise it to the same 39-inch height of the base cabinets. We built a sturdy platform from wood and wrapped it in stainless steel. No one has ever noticed it unless we point it out.”
Backsplash field tile and chair rail moldings: Italian Bianco Carrara, 3 by 6 inches, beveled, The Tile Shop; backsplash decorative panel over range: Delaunay, New Ravenna Tile via Materials Marketing; perimeter countertops: Corian (formerly Zodiaq) quartz in London Sky, DuPont, fabricated and installed by Sublime Custom Stone; island countertop: Calacata 981 quartz, Walker Zanger, fabricated and installed by Sublime Custom Stone; appliances: Monogram, GE; flooring: European oak with custom gray stain, 6-inch planks in random lengths; bar stools: Malin, 25 inches, Everly Quinn, re-covered in Kravet cream faux leather
“Uh-oh” moment. “When we demoed the 2,000-pound rock-range hearth that surrounded the existing 48-inch-wide range, we realized the existing base cabinets that we were going to reuse were 39 inches tall,” Valdez says. “The standard height for base cabinets and appliances is only 36 inches tall. Our 36-inch-tall range suddenly looked dwarfed by the tall base cabinets next to it. So we put our heads together with our talented cabinetmaker and decided to build a 3-inch-tall platform for the range to sit on to raise it to the same 39-inch height of the base cabinets. We built a sturdy platform from wood and wrapped it in stainless steel. No one has ever noticed it unless we point it out.”
Backsplash field tile and chair rail moldings: Italian Bianco Carrara, 3 by 6 inches, beveled, The Tile Shop; backsplash decorative panel over range: Delaunay, New Ravenna Tile via Materials Marketing; perimeter countertops: Corian (formerly Zodiaq) quartz in London Sky, DuPont, fabricated and installed by Sublime Custom Stone; island countertop: Calacata 981 quartz, Walker Zanger, fabricated and installed by Sublime Custom Stone; appliances: Monogram, GE; flooring: European oak with custom gray stain, 6-inch planks in random lengths; bar stools: Malin, 25 inches, Everly Quinn, re-covered in Kravet cream faux leather
Gold cabinet pulls (on black cabinets): Dover collection in lacquered burnished brass, RH; black and gold cabinet pulls (on white cabinets): Elroy drawer pull in aged brass and oil-rubbed bronze, Rejuvenation; pendant lights: Glendale 13-inch chandelier, Hudson Valley Lighting, available on Houzz; custom cabinetry, kitchen island and hood: Aries Woodworks; cabinet paint: Pure White, Sherwin-Williams, and Onyx, Benjamin Moore; wall paint: Swiss Coffee, Benjamin Moore
See more of this kitchen
See more of this kitchen
2. In the Navy!
Designers: Chuck Frusterio of Frusterio Design (plan designer), John Jackovich of Grande Custom Builders (builder) and Jenna Jackovich of Stylefix Home Staging
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Size: 290 square feet (27 square meters); 13½ by 21½ feet
Builder’s request. This was a speculative design home. Builder John Jackovich wanted the kitchen to have a wow factor.
Dream features. Large windows with glass shelves. Hand-glazed navy subway tile installed almost to the ceiling. Quartzite island countertop. Custom hood. White oak flooring.
Designers: Chuck Frusterio of Frusterio Design (plan designer), John Jackovich of Grande Custom Builders (builder) and Jenna Jackovich of Stylefix Home Staging
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Size: 290 square feet (27 square meters); 13½ by 21½ feet
Builder’s request. This was a speculative design home. Builder John Jackovich wanted the kitchen to have a wow factor.
Dream features. Large windows with glass shelves. Hand-glazed navy subway tile installed almost to the ceiling. Quartzite island countertop. Custom hood. White oak flooring.
Designer secret. “Having 11-foot ceilings and such tall windows provided a ton of light to balance out the navy tile,” stylist Jenna Jackovich says. “Otherwise it could have made the room feel smaller.”
Backsplash tile: London Brick collection in Night Sky, 2 by 8 inches, hand glazed, Renaissance Tile & Bath; stools: West Elm; flooring: white oak
See more of this home
Backsplash tile: London Brick collection in Night Sky, 2 by 8 inches, hand glazed, Renaissance Tile & Bath; stools: West Elm; flooring: white oak
See more of this home
3. Texas-Size Style
Designers: Alex Ridgway and Jeremy McFarland of Brickmoon Design (architects)
Location: Hemphill, Texas
Size: 350 square feet (33 square meters); 17½ by 20 feet
Homeowners’ request. A gracious kitchen for gathering with family and friends, that would be accessible from the family room and screened porch area while maintaining generous views of the lake.
Dream features. Lake view. Double ovens and range. Reclaimed cypress wood beams from Louisiana. Multicolored backsplash in herringbone pattern.
See more of this home
Designers: Alex Ridgway and Jeremy McFarland of Brickmoon Design (architects)
Location: Hemphill, Texas
Size: 350 square feet (33 square meters); 17½ by 20 feet
Homeowners’ request. A gracious kitchen for gathering with family and friends, that would be accessible from the family room and screened porch area while maintaining generous views of the lake.
Dream features. Lake view. Double ovens and range. Reclaimed cypress wood beams from Louisiana. Multicolored backsplash in herringbone pattern.
See more of this home
4. California Cool
Designer: Kathy Ann Abell
Location: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Size: 440 square feet (41 square meters); 20 by 22 feet
Homeowners’ request. A casual-California-meets-Hamptons-style kitchen fit for entertaining, with enough seating for a large group of friends and family to eat at the same table.
Dream features. Two zinc-topped tables with seating for 14 people. Dark beams against glossy white painted ceiling slats. Light wood cabinets. Gold accents and fixtures. Island seating for six people.
Designer: Kathy Ann Abell
Location: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Size: 440 square feet (41 square meters); 20 by 22 feet
Homeowners’ request. A casual-California-meets-Hamptons-style kitchen fit for entertaining, with enough seating for a large group of friends and family to eat at the same table.
Dream features. Two zinc-topped tables with seating for 14 people. Dark beams against glossy white painted ceiling slats. Light wood cabinets. Gold accents and fixtures. Island seating for six people.
Designer secret. “Placing two tables end to end rather than installing a massive table gives the homeowners flexibility to more easily move the tables to the outdoor patio or downsize if they ever wish to,” says Kristi Brierton, a design assistant who worked on this project.
Tables: RH; chairs: Palecek; bar stools: Dovetail Furniture; chandelier and pendants: Visual Comfort; vases on tables: Global Views; wood accessories on island: Europe2You; white dinnerware and glassware: Vietri
See more of this project
Your turn: What does your dream kitchen look like? Please share in the Comments.
More
11 Must-Haves in a Designer’s Dream Kitchen
A Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List
Other Resources on Houzz
Find a kitchen designer
Get kitchen design ideas
Browse kitchen materials and products
Tables: RH; chairs: Palecek; bar stools: Dovetail Furniture; chandelier and pendants: Visual Comfort; vases on tables: Global Views; wood accessories on island: Europe2You; white dinnerware and glassware: Vietri
See more of this project
Your turn: What does your dream kitchen look like? Please share in the Comments.
More
11 Must-Haves in a Designer’s Dream Kitchen
A Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List
Other Resources on Houzz
Find a kitchen designer
Get kitchen design ideas
Browse kitchen materials and products
Designers: Wife-and-husband team Jana Valdez (interior designer) and Armando Valdez (contractor) of Haven Design and Construction
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Size: 418 square feet (39 square meters); 22 by 19 feet
Homeowners’ request. A light and airy, crisp and clean kitchen with white walls, sleek finishes and a transitional modern style. “I felt that the best way to achieve this look was to bathe the kitchen in white — walls, countertops and cabinets — but to add depth to the space with the accents of black cabinetry and to add warmth with gray European oak flooring,” designer Jana Valdez says.
Dream features. Two-tier 7½-by-7½-foot island with seating for five people. Stacked upper cabinets that extend almost to the 12-foot ceiling. Two sinks. Large custom range hood. Paneled fridge and dishwasher. Pullouts for trash and recycling, and for cooking utensils and spices by the range. Marble tile backsplash. Undercabinet outlet system. Champagne-gold lighting and plumbing fixtures.