When the economy is bad, the kitchen offers us comfort. It’s the cozy zone where cookies are baked and chicken soup simmers. It's where homework gets done and couples unwind with a glass of wine at the end of a long day. And, during family celebrations and challenging times alike, it's the spot where people reconnect.
And so, just in time for the holidays, we bring you our latest batch of delicious culinary spaces for American homeowners who are dining out less, cooking more, and putting their kitchen to use.
Got a kitchen you want to show off? Don’t be shy. Enter the 2010 Watermark Awards, our annual kitchen and bath competition. The entry deadline has been extended to Nov. 23, 2009.
Credit: Image courtesy Maxwell MacKenzie ©2008
Tasty Tomato
It’s a common request from remodeling clients: Open up this cramped kitchen space, please. And while you’re at it, give it some punch.
The problem with this project was that the wall separating kitchen and dining room was load-bearing. Knocking it out and leaving only a structural column in its place would have been awkward and visually distracting. Plus, moving the plumbing and HVAC runs inside that wall to another spot would have increased the project's costs substantially.
So the designers at Carnemark systems + design came up with a clever compromise. They removed most of that obtrusive wall, but stopped short of taking to the bare minimum. Instead, they maintained a substantial slice (mechanicals and all) to read as an accent wall, which they painted tomato red. Then they painted a coordinating wall on the opposite side of the kitchen galley the same color so the scheme looks intentional and balanced.
Credit: Image courtesy Maxwell MacKenzie ©2008
From there, the designers deployed stark visual contrasts to keep those fiery walls from overpowering the space. Rich brown lacquer cabinets by SieMatic provide plenty of storage with deep pull-out drawers, and their integrated handles create a seamless look when everything is closed up. The 12-foot island (perfect for food prep, homework, and hanging out) is topped with a creamy Caesarstone counter that plays nicely against the darker perimeter countertops and cabinets.
But wait, there’s even more functionality. Not wanting an inch of that small space to go to waste, the design team tucked an office cubby behind the bright red TV wall--with room for a computer and communication center.
Credit: Bob Narod
Fine Vintage
Quaint is an apt descriptor for the colonial row homes that make up D.C.’s historic Georgetown neighborhood. But it’s also a euphemism for small.
That didn’t stop kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer from artfully tucking a range, second oven, microwave, refrigerator, ice machine, wine cooler, prep sink, vent hood, eating area, and work desk into this narrow, 248-square-foot envelope. To alleviate the dark corners that often plague rowhomes, she replaced an existing small window with a three-panel casement window above the sink, overlooking the patio and garden.
Credit: Bob Narod
But she also held fast to certain traditions. The cooking area can be closed off from the dining room during parties via large pocket doors--although classic furniture-style pieces in the heart of the kitchen make it tempting to leave the doors open. Those include a built-in storage “hutch” and corner desk, a Sub-Zero fridge, a skinny pull-out pantry hidden inside what looks like a vintage armoire, and a carved-wood range hood featuring display niches for art. Gilmer cleverly repurposed an antique fireplace cover as a backsplash above the range, and used three different cabinet finishes to give the space an old-fashioned elegance.
Credit: Coles Hairston
Ranch Hand
Here’s a kitchen that takes ruggedness to new heights. Inspired by the rural beauty of Texas Hill Country, architect Rick Burleson incorporated old timber trusses into the room’s 15-foot ceilings and lined the walls with reclaimed barn siding. A weathered turquoise screen door (sourced from a local flea market) leads to a built-in pantry and serves up a shot of color. The transom over the pantry door is made of chicken wire, as are the cupboard screens on the upper level cabinets, which were faux-painted for a distressed look.
Other homegrown touches in this outpost halfway between Austin and San Antonio include a muscular island base fashioned out of native limestone, cowhide bar stools, and the requisite star of Texas as a decorative motif. Silestone countertops and polished concrete floors provide a smooth counterbalance to the rustic elements.
Credit: Coles Hairston
But this kitchen wins points for more than mere personality. It belongs to a larger, eco-friendly ranch compound built with large roof overhangs, on-demand hot water, metal roofing, and polyurethane foam insulation. All of the buildings on the property are oriented to minimize solar gain and to promote natural ventilation as an alternative to air conditioning.
Kid-Friendly
If you spend a lot of time in your house, you might as well have fun. Such was the, mindset of the family of six that commissioned this playful remodel. Dad works out of a home office and the kids are home-schooled under Mom’s supervision, so there’s a whole lot of togetherness. And when it comes to peaceful coexistence, there’s much to be said for well-designed spaces.
CG&S Design Build started by expanding the old kitchen to create room for a central island with bar seating, a big pantry, and extra storage to eliminate clutter. A large wrap-around corner window now channels natural light inside and highlights the space’s candy-colored hues. Red quartz countertops, purple mosaic tile, a frosted glass backsplash (mounted over lavender painted drywall), and lime green millwork count among the whimsical features in this hub of family interaction. Custom maple cabinetry and a Marmoleum floor with welded seams complete the aesthetic.
Notably, the remodel opened up the kitchen and other spaces to improve traffic flow in the house--a smart move, but one that necessitated a different kind of design language. Shifts in wall color, flooring, and ceiling heights now articulate functional areas that were previously delineated with walls.
Credit: Janet Mesic Mackie
Antique Chic
A good eye and a little creativity can often prove more valuable than an unlimited budget. Sometimes all it takes is one amazing centerpiece--such as the knotty, worktable anchoring this English colonial kitchen--to create a showstopper. Designer Michael Del Piero found it at an estate sale and paired it with refurbished factory stools from the 1930s.
Del Piero’s penchant for monochromatic layering and homespun accents is evident in this modest makeover outside Chicago. To create a neutral backdrop, she specified French-glazed terra cotta tile countertops and white appliances. These are subtly interwoven with the kitchen's existing cabinets, which were repainted in an antique eggshell color and outfitted with hardware hand-forged by Amish craftsmen.
Old house renovations always come with surprises and in this case, there was a nice one. When the kitchen’s tired linoleum flooring was ripped up, the designers found original pine plank floors underneath.
Credit: Coles Hairston
Economy Plus
It’s hard to believe this ethereal kitchen was once a cramped and outdated space with insufficient prep areas, 1960s appliances, and a wood-paneled storage pantry that felt like a weird appendage.
It’s even harder to believe that the entire makeover was accomplished for less than $38,000--a sum that included materials and labor, including structural work by Texas Construction Co. to remove dividing walls and reconfigure the kitchen’s main work zones. By contrast, the new space is clean and versatile, with triple the storage capacity of the original footprint. It even includes a small home office/workstation in an adjoining alcove.
Credit: Coles Hairston
Combining freshness with wallet-friendliness, the clients opted for a smorgasbord of Ikea products--including white lacquer cabinets, pendant lights, sinks, faucets, and appliances--plus white Caesarstone countertops and Pella double-pane vinyl windows. These bright whites are offset by a confetti wall of penny round tiles in varying shades of green to match the foliage outside the window. Refinishing the existing wood flooring was a last step that added richness and kept the space from feeling cold.
Credit: Edward Jacoby
Hearth and Home
This guest cottage in Richmond, Mass., (part of an 83-acre property) sits on a slope with sweeping views of the Berkshires, so big south-facing windows were in order for this kitchen. That left CBT Architects and builder Art Rawson with a slight conundrum on the main floor, which needed to encompass an open great room and kitchen. The trick was figuring out how to orient a fireplace in such a way that wouldn’t force guests to turn their backs to the view.
The solution turned out to be a massive hearth in the middle of the open plan that is part island and part wall partition. Custom-crafted out of Pietra Cardosa schist rock, the structure sports a stepped mantel and fireplace on the living room side, cooking storage and counter space on the kitchen side, and bar seating on the end. Slate flooring and stainless appliances were selected to match the blue cast of the shift rock, while cherry cabinets and millwork lend a warm complement.
Handsome and functional, the hearth hides kitchen appliances and prep areas from view, but keeps cooks within earshot of the conversation in the living room. Its central position also has a tangible comforting effect in that it radiates warmth--exactly what you want on chilly New England mornings and evenings.
Credit: Barry Halkin
Nice Stripes
Zebrawood veneer panels form a unifying thread in the open floor plan of this Philadelphia townhouse, designed by Brett Webber Architects, which garnered a 2008 Watermark Award. Sleek in line but dramatic in pattern, a suite of custom cabinets and millwork extends from kitchen to living room, allowing the spaces to intermingle. In a clever space-saving move (one of many executed by builder Foster-Willson Co.), one bank of floor-to-ceiling kitchen cabinets actually hides a small powder room.
Credit: Barry Halkin
Given the pronounced grain of the wood veneer, restraint was appropriate and necessary for complementary surfaces. In the kitchen that meant a stainless steel backsplash and appliances, matte paint colors, and a honed Carrara marble countertop, all of which serve as neutral counterweights.
Credit: Bob Narod
Light Hearted
One thing this kitchen had going for it (that many do not) was ample room to move around--453 square feet of space. Ironically, though, the existing space felt tight and compartmentalized as a result of built walls and stacked cabinets added in a previous renovation. Opening things up was key.
The client wanted a sophisticated look, but assumed the only way to achieve a light kitchen was with white painted cabinets similar to what she’d had before. That is, until kitchen designer Jennifer Gilmer suggested using figured sycamore (a light wood) in a Biedermeier style as an alternative to darker wood species or paint.
Once the walls were removed and plumbing mechanicals were rerouted, the wide open space became a prime candidate for two islands--which now offer tons of counter space for cooking, projects, and social interaction. Floor-to-ceiling pantry units on either side of a large picture window provide extra storage and make up for the reduction in wall cabinetry.
Credit: Sutton Yantis Associates
Toast Master
We admit it. We really like the horizontality and texture of zebrawood, so here we're showing another application of it. You have to admit it’s sumptuous--particularly when used in combination with rich Brazilian mahogany, which architect Bill Sutton of Sutton Yantis Associates did in the custom cabinetry for this weekend getaway home on the water.
Transforming a traditional enclosed kitchen into a party space, Sutton called on Philip Forsythe Construction to open up an existing wall and extend the new cabinetry into the dining area to create a wine bar and serving area. His thinking: People always congregate in the kitchen anyway, so why fight it?
The result is a festive, crowd-accommodating space that is both functional and easy on the eyes. Its many goodies include Caesarstone countertops, a Thermador refrigerator and wall oven, Wolf cooktop, and Miele dishwasher.
The transition from cooking zone to cocktail space is pretty seamless, albeit subtly articulated by a curved tray ceiling and arc light fixture. These rounded elements signal a shift away from the kitchen’s many hard angles in a way that’s quite graceful.
We'll raise a glass to that.
Jenny Sullivan is a senior editor covering architecture and design for BUILDER.