Kitchen of the Week: Zoned Layout for a Family That Loves to Cook
A designer makes a kitchen function for three generations and gives it warm, modern style
Becky Harris
December 17, 2020
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
While house hunting before their move from San Francisco to Southern California, this couple were taken with a ranch home’s location along a golf course. But they didn’t care for its 1980s style or its layout, which was full of odd angles and had a closed-off kitchen. They hired T7 Architecture to design an addition and reconfigure the interior spaces. Kitchen and bath designer Bonnie Bagley Catlin joined the team to design a kitchen that would function efficiently and suit the homeowners’ style.
The couple had relocated to be closer to their daughter and teenage granddaughters, and they all love to cook together. So Catlin created a zoned kitchen layout with multiple prep areas, a cooking zone, a coffee zone, lots of countertop space and a large island. She also added a wall of windows to bathe the room in natural light.
The couple had relocated to be closer to their daughter and teenage granddaughters, and they all love to cook together. So Catlin created a zoned kitchen layout with multiple prep areas, a cooking zone, a coffee zone, lots of countertop space and a large island. She also added a wall of windows to bathe the room in natural light.
“After” photos by Sheldon Ivester of Ivester Creative
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Size: 284 square feet (26 square meters) plus pantry and breakfast room
Kitchen design: Bonnie Bagley Catlin of Signature Designs Kitchen & Bath
Architecture: T7 Architecture
The new kitchen has a wall of windows and a large island that serves as a gathering and cooking hub. The architects opened the formerly closed-off space to the living room on the right and a breakfast room located behind the counter stools. The cooking zone is at one end of the kitchen, and the areas near the two sinks serve as prep zones. Out of frame to the left are the fridge and the coffee zone.
Activity revolves around the large island in the center of the space. It has seating, an ice maker, a second dishwasher, open shelves for cookbooks, lots of specialized storage and a prep sink conveniently located across from the range and wall ovens. The cabinet door seen here conceals the ice maker.
Hire a certified kitchen and bathroom designer
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Size: 284 square feet (26 square meters) plus pantry and breakfast room
Kitchen design: Bonnie Bagley Catlin of Signature Designs Kitchen & Bath
Architecture: T7 Architecture
The new kitchen has a wall of windows and a large island that serves as a gathering and cooking hub. The architects opened the formerly closed-off space to the living room on the right and a breakfast room located behind the counter stools. The cooking zone is at one end of the kitchen, and the areas near the two sinks serve as prep zones. Out of frame to the left are the fridge and the coffee zone.
Activity revolves around the large island in the center of the space. It has seating, an ice maker, a second dishwasher, open shelves for cookbooks, lots of specialized storage and a prep sink conveniently located across from the range and wall ovens. The cabinet door seen here conceals the ice maker.
Hire a certified kitchen and bathroom designer
Before: The existing kitchen had cozy charm and a generous footprint, but its layout wasn’t functional for an extended family that cooks together. The peninsula hemmed in the work area and blocked easy access to the refrigerator, which was behind it. The room was closed off from the rest of the house, and its look wasn’t in keeping with the renovation’s warm, modern style.
After: Catlin removed the peninsula to create better flow and make room for the expansive island. The family wanted as much counter space as possible. The first plan drawn up before Catlin joined the team proposed covering the range wall with tall pantry cabinets. “This cut down on the counter space significantly,” Catlin says. By specifying more efficient lower cabinets along the perimeter and in the island and by working a walk-in pantry into the plans, she eliminated the need for tall cabinets and a lot of upper cabinets.
Shop for a matte black kitchen faucet
Shop for a matte black kitchen faucet
This built-in knife block drawer is conveniently located next to the prep sink. The secondary dishwasher is also located here. Catlin concealed the primary dishwasher behind a panel-front door next to the main sink.
At the right of the photo is a blind corner cabinet insert. These pullouts make the most of two corner cabinet areas in the room.
LeMans blind corner cabinet insert: Hafele
At the right of the photo is a blind corner cabinet insert. These pullouts make the most of two corner cabinet areas in the room.
LeMans blind corner cabinet insert: Hafele
Across from the main sink and dishwasher, Catlin outfitted the island’s drawers with inserts and dowels for utensils, plates and other items.
By packing the lower cabinets with efficient inserts, Catlin was able to install windows rather than upper cabinets along this wall. As a a result, the renovated space has a more open feel and enjoys more expansive views and light.
Tip: Before drilling any holes, make sure the cabinet hardware suits the proportions of the door or drawer. “The builder did the greatest thing — he made mockups of the hardware pulls from wood,” Catlin says. “These cabinets have pulls in a lot of different sizes, and this helped us make sure we were getting the proportions right for every door and drawer.”
Before: The peninsula blocked the path to the refrigerator. “Having to walk around that peninsula to get to the fridge was a pain,” Catlin says.
After: The refrigerator stayed in the same spot. “But without the peninsula, it’s a straight shot to the rest of the kitchen now,” Catlin says. The family can grab ingredients from the fridge and place them on the island or next to the sink for prep work.
To the left of the fridge is a new walk-in pantry. To the right is the coffee station. It includes one of the room’s two upper cabinets with glass doors framed in black aluminum. The style of these cabinets plays off the style of the windows and keeps things light. “I like to use these aluminum-framed cabinets as an accent,” the designer says.
Aluminum-framed cabinet doors: Element Designs
To the left of the fridge is a new walk-in pantry. To the right is the coffee station. It includes one of the room’s two upper cabinets with glass doors framed in black aluminum. The style of these cabinets plays off the style of the windows and keeps things light. “I like to use these aluminum-framed cabinets as an accent,” the designer says.
Aluminum-framed cabinet doors: Element Designs
The shelf that holds the coffee makers rolls out for easy access, and there’s an outlet next to it. A custom drawer insert holds coffee pods.
The lighting scheme includes recessed lights in the ceiling, undercabinet lighting and two modern pendants over the island.
“The house renovation and addition wound up costing more than the homeowners originally planned on spending,” Catlin says. “So we had to value-engineer some of their choices for the kitchen.” She saved a lot of money by replacing the couple’s wood veneer cabinet choice with a laminate that looks like wood, made by Italian company Cleaf.
Also, the original plans called for slabs of Bianco Gioia quartz that matched the countertops to cover the backsplash walls and range hood. When they discovered these slabs would be a budget-buster, Catlin sourced large-format Calacatta marble tiles for the backsplash instead. Their veining and coloring are a close match to the countertops. “We decided to calm down the range hood and used a noncombustible drywall to cover it. It looks like stucco but is less expensive,” Catlin says.
“The house renovation and addition wound up costing more than the homeowners originally planned on spending,” Catlin says. “So we had to value-engineer some of their choices for the kitchen.” She saved a lot of money by replacing the couple’s wood veneer cabinet choice with a laminate that looks like wood, made by Italian company Cleaf.
Also, the original plans called for slabs of Bianco Gioia quartz that matched the countertops to cover the backsplash walls and range hood. When they discovered these slabs would be a budget-buster, Catlin sourced large-format Calacatta marble tiles for the backsplash instead. Their veining and coloring are a close match to the countertops. “We decided to calm down the range hood and used a noncombustible drywall to cover it. It looks like stucco but is less expensive,” Catlin says.
The homeowners chose black Portoro quartzite with a honed finish for the island countertop. It provides strong contrast to the light-colored quartz perimeter countertops. Brass accents on the matte black faucets play off the warmth of the cabinetry. Both of the sinks are Elkay quartz.
Faucets: Litze, Brizo
Find a local countertop pro
Faucets: Litze, Brizo
Find a local countertop pro
After: The architects had the wall between the two spaces removed.
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
Browse counter stools in the Houzz Shop
The architects moved the formal dining room to another spot and turned the space into a more casual breakfast room. This is the view from the kitchen island toward this space. Large new windows and doors provide views to the patio and golf course.
One of the homeowners sourced the multifunctional wall-mounted piece on the right. It serves as both sideboard and workstation.
Doors: LaCantina
One of the homeowners sourced the multifunctional wall-mounted piece on the right. It serves as both sideboard and workstation.
Doors: LaCantina
The architects redesigned an awkwardly angled fireplace to give it clean, modern lines. The two-sided fireplace serves both the breakfast room and the family room. “Unfortunately, the original floors were not salvageable,” Catlin says. They installed new smoked French oak engineered hardwood throughout the house.
Flooring: Lisbon, Mediterranean collection, California Classics Hardwood Flooring
Flooring: Lisbon, Mediterranean collection, California Classics Hardwood Flooring
This photo shows the view of the kitchen and its bold artwork from the living room sofa.
See more of this home
See more of this home
Before: The pantry was located along a wall between the kitchen and dining room. It was removed to open up the kitchen to what is now the breakfast room.
After: The walk-in pantry is part of the addition. Catlin hung hooks for the couple’s his-and-her aprons.
Before: This floor plan shows the closed-off kitchen with the formal dining room above it. The angled fireplace can also be seen.
After: The architects designed an addition between the house and the garage. The center of the plan shows the relationship between the kitchen and the breakfast room. The new pantry is at the bottom right corner. Reconfiguring a vast entry area at the bottom left corner made room for a new formal dining room next to it.
The previous plan included the architect’s initial layout for the kitchen before the homeowners hired Catlin. This is her plan, which represents the kitchen as it was built.
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I am such a fan in the utility of this kitchen especially that hybrid lazy susan cabinet thing
Great ideas for living spaces and organized storage, while being light, uncluttered and welcoming
@scottishflower, if you look at the plan and the photo showing the owner's aprons hanging on the wall in the pantry, you will see the door that passes between the garage and the pantry, giving access to the house directly from the garage without having to go outside.