Cheerful Yellow-and-Blue Kitchen for Book Lovers
Pale yellow cabinets, bold blue tiles and built-in bookshelves create a warm and inviting kitchen in Portland, Oregon
Bryan Anthony
September 24, 2019
The homeowners’ shared love of books (she’s an author and he’s a filmmaker) and their shared Swedish heritage informed the renovation of their kitchen and breakfast room in Portland, Oregon. “There’s a little book-filled cafe in Stockholm that they love to hang out in while on vacation,” project architect Michael Howells says. “I tried to re-create that feel for them by adding bookshelves to the kitchen and the breakfast room.”
Photos by Laurie Black
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A married couple and their two kids
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 430 square feet (40 square meters)
Designer: Howells Architecture + Design
The color selection for the kitchen cabinets was also informed by location, but this time it was local. “Portland can be pretty gloomy, so adding a cheerful color can help brighten a space,” Howells says. He chose a pale yellow from Benjamin Moore called Hay Stack.
All of the cabinets and the island base are custom. The island base is covered in shiplap, and the cabinet doors include custom channels. “The shiplap and the cabinets add to that Swedish-countryside feel they wanted,” Howells says.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A married couple and their two kids
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 430 square feet (40 square meters)
Designer: Howells Architecture + Design
The color selection for the kitchen cabinets was also informed by location, but this time it was local. “Portland can be pretty gloomy, so adding a cheerful color can help brighten a space,” Howells says. He chose a pale yellow from Benjamin Moore called Hay Stack.
All of the cabinets and the island base are custom. The island base is covered in shiplap, and the cabinet doors include custom channels. “The shiplap and the cabinets add to that Swedish-countryside feel they wanted,” Howells says.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Howells likes to bring cabinets all the way up to the ceiling in almost all of his projects. “Tall cabinets allow you to store those infrequently used items all the way on top,” he says, “leaving more space on the bottom shelves for those items you use all the time.”
The bold blue tiles covering the backsplash are handmade of glazed ceramic. Howells laid the tiles vertically, to subtly celebrate the homeowners’ love of literature: The tile pattern echoes the spines of books on a shelf.
Shop for blue ceramic tile on Houzz
The bold blue tiles covering the backsplash are handmade of glazed ceramic. Howells laid the tiles vertically, to subtly celebrate the homeowners’ love of literature: The tile pattern echoes the spines of books on a shelf.
Shop for blue ceramic tile on Houzz
One wall of the kitchen is covered in custom built-in bookshelves that hold a collection of books, cookware and various other accessories. “I always encourage my clients to personalize their kitchen,” Howells says. “Too many kitchens can feel sterile because they don’t leave any space to display personal items.”
The ceiling features a trio of frosted globe light fixtures. “I love these fixtures because they provide a classic look and shine light in every direction, just like the sun,” Howells says.
The ceiling features a trio of frosted globe light fixtures. “I love these fixtures because they provide a classic look and shine light in every direction, just like the sun,” Howells says.
The island and perimeter counters are black granite with a leathered finish. “I’m a big fan of leathered finishes, because they hide smudges and fingerprints much better than honed finishes,” Howells says.
He and his team removed a wall in the former kitchen to create an adjacent breakfast room behind the blue counter stools. “The room used to be a library, but the homeowners felt it would work better as a breakfast room with the bookshelves.”
He and his team removed a wall in the former kitchen to create an adjacent breakfast room behind the blue counter stools. “The room used to be a library, but the homeowners felt it would work better as a breakfast room with the bookshelves.”
The wall of custom bookshelves and all of the trim in the breakfast room are the same cheerful yellow found in the adjacent kitchen.
A marble-topped Saarinen dining table, six leather chairs, a custom wool area rug and a domed light fixture by a Scandinavian designer combine to create a lovely vignette in the breakfast room. “It’s one of those spaces that you can sit in all day and read a book, just like the cafe they love in Stockholm,” Howells says.
More on Houzz
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A marble-topped Saarinen dining table, six leather chairs, a custom wool area rug and a domed light fixture by a Scandinavian designer combine to create a lovely vignette in the breakfast room. “It’s one of those spaces that you can sit in all day and read a book, just like the cafe they love in Stockholm,” Howells says.
More on Houzz
Cooking Up Color: 7 Ways to Shine With Yellow in the Kitchen
20 Book Lover’s Spaces That Will Make You Want to Read
Find a kitchen designer
Browse modern dining tables
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So bold and yet homey. For those tired of grey, this is a refreshing change. Our butler's pantry, (created from part of original kitchen when a new kitchen addition built) has creamy yellow walls and painted white and grey cabinets with butcher block counter. I find the combo homey yet clean-looking. (Some finishing still needed to close up above uppers and trim out backsplash area.)
Meant to add that the gray I chose is BM Secret. In some cases it can have an olive undertone. The creamy yellow is actually Hepplewhite Ivory, also by BM.
Love the article