Kitchen of the Week: Modern, Playful and Full of Personality
An architectural designer helps design aficionados create a kitchen that reveals its materials and craftsmanship
This Berkeley, California, couple had a keen interest in design and had a wonderful time during their kitchen renovation. “They did not want a run-of-the-mill modern kitchen,” architectural designer and design-build firm owner Kevin Mond says. Instead, they wanted something that would showcase the qualities of the materials they used and the way things were crafted. This approach, common in midcentury modern design, helped infuse the space with their personalities and a sense of playfulness.
The focal point is the range wall. The backsplash is a handmade blue brick veneer by local San Francisco company Fireclay Tile. The irregularity in the tile and grout lines highlights that it was handmade, which was important to the homeowners. “In most cases we’d freak out if grout didn’t look perfect, but these homeowners wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mond says.
Other things they wanted to reveal were china, glasses and cookware. The open upper storage is composed of simple 12-inch-deep plywood boxes that match the cabinetry. Rather than having fancy features like mitered edges, these are simple. “Their construction shows that a box is just a box,” Mond says.
Backsplash: Vintage blue brick in gloss, Fireclay Tile
Browse range hoods in the Houzz Shop
Other things they wanted to reveal were china, glasses and cookware. The open upper storage is composed of simple 12-inch-deep plywood boxes that match the cabinetry. Rather than having fancy features like mitered edges, these are simple. “Their construction shows that a box is just a box,” Mond says.
Backsplash: Vintage blue brick in gloss, Fireclay Tile
Browse range hoods in the Houzz Shop
This detail illustrates the design philosophy of revealing materials and how things were crafted. “Both [owners] were very interested in showing materials for what they were. Their attitude was, ‘Let’s be proud that we are using plywood,’ ” Mond says. So rather than covering the cabinet frames, where the pressed sheets that make up a piece of plywood show, he revealed them.
“We used a high-grade Baltic birch plywood so that it wouldn’t have the gaps that lesser-quality plywood has,” Mond says. “Usually the cabinet frame would be hidden by a built-up counter edge, but we didn’t do that. The true thickness of the slab shows.”
The countertops are black granite. They have a honed finish to show off the qualities of the material. “This took out any sheen,” Mond says.
Countertops: Premium black granite, MSI
“We used a high-grade Baltic birch plywood so that it wouldn’t have the gaps that lesser-quality plywood has,” Mond says. “Usually the cabinet frame would be hidden by a built-up counter edge, but we didn’t do that. The true thickness of the slab shows.”
The countertops are black granite. They have a honed finish to show off the qualities of the material. “This took out any sheen,” Mond says.
Countertops: Premium black granite, MSI
Mond used inset doors and drawers to reveal the rest of the plywood cabinet framing. Typically, overlay doors and drawers would extend over the framing to cover it. “This shows that the cabinets are basically boxes within boxes,” Mond says. The framing also shows off the pressed composition of the plywood. More deep plywood boxes on the wall match those on the other side of the room.
On this side of the kitchen, they opted to use a simple 4-inch backsplash in coordinating granite. “We wanted to put the focus on the blue range wall,” Mond says. “We didn’t want this side of the kitchen to take away attention from that.”
On this side of the kitchen, they opted to use a simple 4-inch backsplash in coordinating granite. “We wanted to put the focus on the blue range wall,” Mond says. “We didn’t want this side of the kitchen to take away attention from that.”
“These clients love to entertain,” Mond says. The peninsula that faces the dining room provides a convenient spot for guests to gather and for the homeowners to set up a bar and serve food.
Another way Mond revealed the construction and materials was by leaving the counter’s support brackets exposed. “These are really nice heavy pieces of metal,” he says. “Usually you’d hide them inside the cabinetry, but we decided to show them off.”
The idea of nice hefty pieces of metal also informed the use of oversize black metal cabinet pulls. And a coordinating matte black faucet with a simple silhouette works well with the granite countertops.
Allia 31⅛-inch undermount single-basin fireclay kitchen sink: Rohl; matte black Solna pullout kitchen faucet: Brizo
Browse matte black kitchen faucets
Allia 31⅛-inch undermount single-basin fireclay kitchen sink: Rohl; matte black Solna pullout kitchen faucet: Brizo
Browse matte black kitchen faucets
“Usually a kitchen just dies at a wall where the next room begins,” Mond says. Here, he blurred the line between the kitchen and dining room by wrapping the wall between them in more plywood built-ins. The shelves provide a nice spot to display some favorite decorative objects.
The homeowners also liked the idea of letting their cookware show. These drawer fronts allow the cookware to be seen when closed. “At first we also had talked about having all of the cabinetry be finger-pull, but it turns out that was more expensive than using hardware,” Mond says. “This was an opportunity to give them some cabinetry that could be opened this way.”
In the spirit of making the most of every inch, Mond outfitted the corner cabinet with pullout shelving.
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In the spirit of making the most of every inch, Mond outfitted the corner cabinet with pullout shelving.
Hire a cabinet pro
Mond concentrated a wall of hardworking cabinets around the fridge. The cabinet to the right is for brooms, mops and cleaning supplies. The cabinets to the left are pantry storage. The upper cabinets are for seasonal, bulk and other lesser-used items.
“Most people just want the construction to be over, but these homeowners would have been happy to have it go on forever,” Mond says. “They loved everything about the design process.”
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“Most people just want the construction to be over, but these homeowners would have been happy to have it go on forever,” Mond says. “They loved everything about the design process.”
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Berkeley, California
Size: 200 square feet (19 square meters)
Designers: This was a collaboration between Kevin Mond and Milton Tong of HDR Remodeling, design consultant Heather Cleveland and the homeowners.
“Because this house is only about 900 square feet, we had to make every inch count,” Mond says. His clients wanted to be able to work in the kitchen together and entertain with ease. To accommodate this in the 200-square foot kitchen, Mond designed a double-L layout, meaning the room has two peninsulas in opposite corners.
The peninsula toward the back of the kitchen provides prep space and makes it easy to set down food from the fridge and pantry in a spot that’s convenient to the range and sink. The peninsula in the foreground serves the dining room.
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