Kitchen Design
The Story Behind the Most Popular Photo of All Time on Houzz
For Houzz’s 10th anniversary, see how a classic kitchen with white cabinets became the most-saved photo ever
Mary Jo Fiorella treated the project like any other. Around 2007, her clients, a couple in San Jose, California, hired her to update several rooms in their 1970s home. The kitchen was a major focus of the renovation, and Fiorella took down a wall to convert the formerly tight U-shaped layout into an L-shaped arrangement that opens to the family room. She added an island and went through her typical routine of visiting showrooms with her clients to choose materials. When her clients selected a light green backsplash tile to go with the traditional white Shaker-style custom cabinets, Fiorella thought this kitchen would be something special.
Before: The former kitchen couldn’t have been more of a departure from the current design. Basic cabinetry, outdated appliances and a tight layout made for a space that lacked joy, style and function.
The door seen to the left of the stove led to the dining room. Fiorella decided to enclose this door to gain more wall space for storage and a larger range. She removed the refrigerator wall and a peninsula to the left to open the kitchen to the family room.
The door seen to the left of the stove led to the dining room. Fiorella decided to enclose this door to gain more wall space for storage and a larger range. She removed the refrigerator wall and a peninsula to the left to open the kitchen to the family room.
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After: This photo was taken from about the same angle as the previous one. A new arched window is over the sink, which stayed in the same place. The range also stayed in about the same spot.
With the peninsula gone and the door enclosed, Fiorella gained space for a square-shaped island. The circular shape of the candle-style chandelier contrasts with the square island and complements the curved window. The dark finish coordinates with the dark floor.
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With the peninsula gone and the door enclosed, Fiorella gained space for a square-shaped island. The circular shape of the candle-style chandelier contrasts with the square island and complements the curved window. The dark finish coordinates with the dark floor.
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The custom cabinets feature a hefty crown detail that enhances the overall style in the kitchen. The detail was a result of Fiorella not wanting to bring the cabinet boxes all the way to the ceiling. “After you get to 8 feet with cabinet height it can be cumbersome to store anything above that,” she says. “It’s cumbersome even right at 8 feet. Plus it’s more costly to continue cabinets all the way up.”
Instead, Fiorella designed crown molding on top of the upper cabinets, a soffit above that, then topped everything with more crown molding. “It looks like a big dramatic crown detail,” she says.
Glass-front cabinets to the right help break up all the white. “And it adds some nice depth,” Fiorella says.
A 36-inch farmhouse-style single-basin sink completes the timeless kitchen design.
The one thing Fiorella says she’d recommend doing differently in this kitchen is the marble countertop, which she says requires too much upkeep and etches and stains easily. These days she prefers quartzite, a more durable and forgiving natural stone. Otherwise she recommends marble-look quartz and porcelain as durable countertop options.
Instead, Fiorella designed crown molding on top of the upper cabinets, a soffit above that, then topped everything with more crown molding. “It looks like a big dramatic crown detail,” she says.
Glass-front cabinets to the right help break up all the white. “And it adds some nice depth,” Fiorella says.
A 36-inch farmhouse-style single-basin sink completes the timeless kitchen design.
The one thing Fiorella says she’d recommend doing differently in this kitchen is the marble countertop, which she says requires too much upkeep and etches and stains easily. These days she prefers quartzite, a more durable and forgiving natural stone. Otherwise she recommends marble-look quartz and porcelain as durable countertop options.
The kitchen includes a cushioned window seat in a bay window. A curved door to the backyard coordinates with the curved window over the sink. Though this isn’t a large kitchen, its fresh style and thoughtful space planning make it a successful, enduring design.
Images of this kitchen are among the more than 20 million photos of professionally designed homes and yards that have been uploaded to the Houzz website and app since 2010. And Fiorella, who’s been a member since the beginning (and has gained clients from Houzz), is one of more than 2.5 million home design and remodeling professionals on the site.
“This was like any other project,” she says. “It’s amazing how you can do a timeless design and have people really respond to it this many years later. It’s a testament to a white kitchen with classic materials.”
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Images of this kitchen are among the more than 20 million photos of professionally designed homes and yards that have been uploaded to the Houzz website and app since 2010. And Fiorella, who’s been a member since the beginning (and has gained clients from Houzz), is one of more than 2.5 million home design and remodeling professionals on the site.
“This was like any other project,” she says. “It’s amazing how you can do a timeless design and have people really respond to it this many years later. It’s a testament to a white kitchen with classic materials.”
Your turn: For Houzz’s 10th Anniversary, Share Your Favorite Photo
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Scores of people began saving the photos, especially the kitchen photo shown here, to their Houzz ideabooks. A decade later, in 2020, the kitchen photo has been saved to more ideabooks than any other photo on Houzz, and Fiorella still receives messages from fans of the kitchen asking about every little detail. “I never knew this would turn into something this impactful,” she says.
Fiorella says she’s received dozens, maybe hundreds, of inquiries about the light green backsplash tile with a crackle-glaze finish. “It’s hard to get clients to make a commitment to picking a color on a backsplash,” she says. “That’s why you see so much white subway tile, which is too bad, because you can see how much impact a little bit of color has. It really enriches and enhances a white kitchen and adds texture and depth and is just downright pretty.” (Unfortunately the tile was discontinued about a decade ago, but similar tile can be found elsewhere.)
Fiorella says deciding to go with 3-by-8-inch tiles versus the standard 3-by-6-inch subway tiles was a subtle detail that also had a big design payoff. She still shows this photo to clients who she feels could benefit from moving out of the comfort zone of a white subway tile backsplash.
Dark hand-scraped hardwood flooring gives contrast to the white cabinets and Carrara marble countertops. “We wanted a stately, classic aesthetic,” Fiorella says. “The contrast is really elegant. To have that dark against the white is classically traditional, something you don’t typically see in the Bay Area in California. In more recent years it’s been all lighter floors.”
Over the years, Fiorella has kindly answered dozens of questions about the details in this kitchen, and she’s even tagged those details in the photo itself. (Click on the photo to see the tags, then click the tags to view the information.)
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