Kitchen of the Week: Designer Creates Her Own Dream Kitchen
Creamy paint and marble tones, brass finishes, ceiling beams and natural wood warm this sophisticated space
Jessica Nelson is an interior designer, and her husband, Scott, owns a contracting firm. So when they built a new home for their family of four in Lakeway, Texas, they were well-equipped to incorporate every must-have on their list. In the kitchen, it began with a large, gracefully arched window. “I’m a huge window-in-the-kitchen person,” Nelson says. “I love to place it over the sink so that I can look out while doing dishes.” From there, she infused the room with warmth, using beautiful marble, cream tones, white oak and brass finishes.
The kitchen is open to the living room, so it needed to provide a nice view. This side of the white oak island has fluted panels inset into the Shaker-style frames. Nelson went with a clear coat on the natural wood and no stain. The flooring is European white oak and the ceiling beams are white oak with a natural finish.
In her computer renderings, Nelson worked on centering different elements in the room. She placed the Venetian plaster vent hood and then centered the white oak beams in the tray ceiling off it. And she placed the island so that the three large brass pendant lights could be centered in between the beams. This kind of meticulous work is the reason everything looks pleasingly balanced.
The cabinet to the right has pullout shelves for easy access to herbs, spices and oils. “I wanted these things to be close at hand instead of having to walk to the pantry,” Nelson says. “I like to tuck a countertop cabinet back a little, so that there is countertop in front of it. This cabinet was a classic element that was on my must-have list.”
Pendant lights: Precision, Visual Comfort
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In her computer renderings, Nelson worked on centering different elements in the room. She placed the Venetian plaster vent hood and then centered the white oak beams in the tray ceiling off it. And she placed the island so that the three large brass pendant lights could be centered in between the beams. This kind of meticulous work is the reason everything looks pleasingly balanced.
The cabinet to the right has pullout shelves for easy access to herbs, spices and oils. “I wanted these things to be close at hand instead of having to walk to the pantry,” Nelson says. “I like to tuck a countertop cabinet back a little, so that there is countertop in front of it. This cabinet was a classic element that was on my must-have list.”
Pendant lights: Precision, Visual Comfort
Shop for kitchen lighting on Houzz
“My husband is a big cook, so the 48-inch Wolf range was a must-have,” Nelson says. She designed the custom hood accordingly.
As for the color palette, Nelson says she’s “done with grays” and wanted a warm and soothing look. This photo provides the closest view of the stunning Calacatta Monet marble backsplash. “The photos do not even do this justice. It appears more white, but it actually has a creamy tone,” the designer says. “And the veining has warm colors including reds and purples within it.” She added a ledge above it for display and added a small lip to to the face so things won’t fall. “This also gave it a thicker presence,” Nelson says.
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As for the color palette, Nelson says she’s “done with grays” and wanted a warm and soothing look. This photo provides the closest view of the stunning Calacatta Monet marble backsplash. “The photos do not even do this justice. It appears more white, but it actually has a creamy tone,” the designer says. “And the veining has warm colors including reds and purples within it.” She added a ledge above it for display and added a small lip to to the face so things won’t fall. “This also gave it a thicker presence,” Nelson says.
Find a local countertop pro on Houzz
The countertops are leathered Negresco quartzite. “My husband was shocked when I said I wanted black countertops, but these are so warm and soothing. They also have brown tones and light veining in them,” Nelson says. “They are very warm, especially with that leathered finish.” She used black on the faucets, which have knurled brass details that give them a little bling. These pick up on the knurled honey bronze cabinet pulls.
The island measures 4¾ by 9½ feet. Nelson says she’s glad she added a second sink and a second dishwasher to the island. It’s another spot to hide dishes from view when entertaining, and it makes the island a great spot for prep work. The island also houses an ice maker, a recycling pullout, a microwave drawer and storage.
Pull-down faucet: Brizo; cabinet hardware: Top Knobs
Browse matte black kitchen faucets in the Houzz Shop
The island measures 4¾ by 9½ feet. Nelson says she’s glad she added a second sink and a second dishwasher to the island. It’s another spot to hide dishes from view when entertaining, and it makes the island a great spot for prep work. The island also houses an ice maker, a recycling pullout, a microwave drawer and storage.
Pull-down faucet: Brizo; cabinet hardware: Top Knobs
Browse matte black kitchen faucets in the Houzz Shop
Here’s Nelson, standing in front of another of the couple’s biggest must-haves, a hidden door that opens to the butler’s pantry. “Our clients love hidden doors like this when they see them on Houzz,” she says. “And I’ve always wanted one. Also, the kids love using it when playing hide-and-seek.”
The panel-front fridge and freezer are in the center of that wall, and a hidden coffee station is on the right. It has a built-in Miele coffee maker. The box to the left has pullouts for coffee cups and other accoutrements.
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The panel-front fridge and freezer are in the center of that wall, and a hidden coffee station is on the right. It has a built-in Miele coffee maker. The box to the left has pullouts for coffee cups and other accoutrements.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
Here’s a view of the living room, located directly behind the island. The Nelsons repeated the arch of that beloved window throughout the house, adding softness to the architecture. To the left of the fireplace, the built-ins match the island. They’re white oak with a clear coat, but the fluting on this piece is smaller than the fluting on the island’s base.
“From working on the architectural plans until completion, building this house took about five years,” Nelson says. “We poured all of our love into this home.”
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“From working on the architectural plans until completion, building this house took about five years,” Nelson says. “We poured all of our love into this home.”
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: Jessica and Scott Nelson and their children, Cameron, 5, and Cora, 3
Location: Lakeway, Texas
Size: 260 square feet (24 square meters)
Designer: Jessica Nelson of Etch Design Group
Here is the window that launched the room’s design. “I must have spent hundreds of hours in AutoCAD to get the scale of everything just right in here,” Nelson says. And it paid off — the size of the window perfectly suits the room’s high ceilings and high upper cabinets. “Arched details are so flattering and add a dainty touch,” Nelson says. “After I had that window, everything else just fell into place from there.”
Nelson was also thoughtful about how the layout and storage would work for her family. There’s a dishwasher to the right of the sink, and she outfitted the cabinet drawers with organizational inserts while placing pullout drawers behind the lower cabinet doors. “I installed pullout drawers beneath both sinks,” Nelson says. “That way we don’t have to rummage around under there looking for things like cleaning supplies.”
Cabinet paint: Shiitake, Sherwin-Williams
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