Black-and-White Kitchen Nods to Classic Chanel Style
Before and after: A designer transforms a kitchen in a historic building on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive
Bryan Anthony
March 1, 2020
Designer Alida Coury used to work for luxury fashion company Chanel, where she developed an affinity for high-contrast design as exemplified by the company’s famous black-and-white boxes. “This kitchen remodel is a bit of an ode to those famous boxes,” Coury says. Staying within the footprint of the previous kitchen and breakfast room, she created a bold space with new cabinetry, countertops and marble flooring — all in stark black and white.
Photos by Aimée Mazzenga
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: Chicago
Size: About 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Alida Coury Interiors
Black and white materials can be found from floor to ceiling in this remodeled Chicago kitchen. The designer laid out thin black and white marble tiles in a custom abstract pattern that runs from the kitchen into the adjoining breakfast room. The coffered ceiling is painted in a combination of Simply White and Black Satin, both by Benjamin Moore.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple
Location: Chicago
Size: About 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Alida Coury Interiors
Black and white materials can be found from floor to ceiling in this remodeled Chicago kitchen. The designer laid out thin black and white marble tiles in a custom abstract pattern that runs from the kitchen into the adjoining breakfast room. The coffered ceiling is painted in a combination of Simply White and Black Satin, both by Benjamin Moore.
Find an interior designer near you
Before: The previous kitchen had travertine flooring, black granite countertops and white high-gloss MDF cabinets.
After: All-new Shaker-style cabinets provide a more traditional feel that better aligns with the classic coffered ceiling and glass partitions between the kitchen and the breakfast room. “The apartment is located in a historic building along Chicago’s famous Lake Shore Drive,” Coury says. “We wanted the kitchen to nod to the building’s traditional character while still feeling fresh and modern.”
The four dome ceiling light fixtures from the previous kitchen remain. “I don’t like to replace everything just to replace it,” the designer says. “These domed lights are the perfect scale for the space — the ceiling’s new color scheme lets them stand out even more.”
Shop for dome ceiling lights on Houzz
The four dome ceiling light fixtures from the previous kitchen remain. “I don’t like to replace everything just to replace it,” the designer says. “These domed lights are the perfect scale for the space — the ceiling’s new color scheme lets them stand out even more.”
Shop for dome ceiling lights on Houzz
The countertops and backsplashes are now covered in slabs of marble-look engineered quartz. The range wall includes four floating shelves made of the same quartz; they provide easy-to-access storage. A new pot filler allows the homeowners to fill large pots with water without having to lug them back and forth between the sink and the range.
A new undermount porcelain sink replaced the former stainless steel one. All of the cabinetry hardware is polished nickel, which complements the homeowners’ collection of sterling silver serveware.
The top row of cabinets are painted black to help lift the eye and to coordinate with the black-and-white coffered ceiling. “It reminds me of the black lines on the border of Chanel boxes,” Coury says.
The top row of cabinets are painted black to help lift the eye and to coordinate with the black-and-white coffered ceiling. “It reminds me of the black lines on the border of Chanel boxes,” Coury says.
Before: The previous breakfast room was awash in white, including via the walls, breakfast table and linen-shade drum pendant.
After: The new marble floor tiles continue from the kitchen into the breakfast room, bringing the black-and-white color scheme with them. The frames of the pantry doors to the left of the existing breakfast table are now covered in black paint, and the inset glass is backed by new fabric featuring an abstract black-and-white pattern.
A custom bench painted black covers a radiator and is topped with an upholstered seat and throw pillows. The new black metal chandelier above the existing table reminds the designer of a birdcage.
More on Houzz
5 Smashing Black-and-White Kitchens in Different Styles
10 Pair-Ups for Black in the Kitchen
Look for an interior designer near you
Shop for a black metal chandelier
More on Houzz
5 Smashing Black-and-White Kitchens in Different Styles
10 Pair-Ups for Black in the Kitchen
Look for an interior designer near you
Shop for a black metal chandelier
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Beyond fantastic! The design throughout is genius! Great story and back story.
love the fashion-love as inspiration! Maybe a Tiffany blue tea kettle on the range? A funny thought on the pot filler spigots at ranges: they are status kitchen fixtures, but if you think about it, antithetical. The cold water fills the pot at the range, yay. But the boiling hot water filled with veggies, pasta, whatever, still needs to be lugged all the way back over to the sink for draining. If this lux design component were really thought through, a sink should be immediately next to the range, which of course is never done...
Exactly right, modlodgeluv — i’ve been singing this tune for decades!