Kitchen of the Week: Open Concept in California Wine Country
An interior designer helps her clients rebuild after a wildfire, giving them a new style and layout
In 2017, a wildfire burned this retired California couple’s condo in Napa Valley to the ground. The vacation home was located about an hour’s drive from their main residence, and they loved to play golf and gather with family and friends there. Though getting it rebuilt was a long process, what rose from the ashes was a new beginning for the homeowners, who now find they spend about half their time here. Their interior designer, Jane Ellison, suggested they try out an open floor plan this time around. The rebuild also gave them a chance to infuse the home with contemporary style that suited their tastes more than the previous style did.
After: The refrigerator in this photo is on the same wall as the fridge in the previous photo.
“With the open-concept floor plan, this kitchen needed to have a galley layout,” Ellison says. A large island helps delineate the kitchen from the other rooms around it. These include a dining area directly behind the kitchen and a living room to the right of the dining room. This main floor also includes a small TV lounge, a powder room and a mudroom. The house sits on a slope, so this main level enjoys treehouse-like canopy views out the back. The bedrooms are on the walk-out lower level.
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“With the open-concept floor plan, this kitchen needed to have a galley layout,” Ellison says. A large island helps delineate the kitchen from the other rooms around it. These include a dining area directly behind the kitchen and a living room to the right of the dining room. This main floor also includes a small TV lounge, a powder room and a mudroom. The house sits on a slope, so this main level enjoys treehouse-like canopy views out the back. The bedrooms are on the walk-out lower level.
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“These homeowners liked grays and neutrals, and their style leaned contemporary,” Ellison says. “They also had a very nice art collection.” The artwork is bright and colorful, and a neutral scheme provided the perfect backdrop for it.
They also liked the idea of using durable laminate finishes on the cabinetry. The laminates have the look of white oak with vertical graining. The galley cabinets are lighter and warmer, while the island has the look of white oak with a gray wash for contrast. The countertops and backsplash are polished quartzite. The quartzite adds beautiful natural veining patterns and warm tones to the room.
Cabinet laminate: 7970, Wilsonart; island laminate: LK98 Rovere, Cleaf
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They also liked the idea of using durable laminate finishes on the cabinetry. The laminates have the look of white oak with vertical graining. The galley cabinets are lighter and warmer, while the island has the look of white oak with a gray wash for contrast. The countertops and backsplash are polished quartzite. The quartzite adds beautiful natural veining patterns and warm tones to the room.
Cabinet laminate: 7970, Wilsonart; island laminate: LK98 Rovere, Cleaf
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Ellison created a bar zone on the left side of the galley. A wine cooler, bar sink, storage for bar supplies and upper cabinets outfitted for glassware keep everything in one place. The tall cabinets to the right are pantry cabinets with pullout shelving.
There are special decorative touches as well. The quartzite Ellison used on the countertops continues up to the ceiling as a dramatic backsplash. Bronze mesh inserts on the upper cabinet doors add texture. In between them, glass shelves provide a spot to display favorite items and are lighted from above.
Quartzite: Naica Lux, All Natural Stone
There are special decorative touches as well. The quartzite Ellison used on the countertops continues up to the ceiling as a dramatic backsplash. Bronze mesh inserts on the upper cabinet doors add texture. In between them, glass shelves provide a spot to display favorite items and are lighted from above.
Quartzite: Naica Lux, All Natural Stone
The clients opted for a separate cooktop and wall ovens. Here, an expanse of quartzite up the wall provides a lovely view. One of the wall ovens is an Advantium microwave-convection oven. Deep drawers provide efficient and ergonomic storage.
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The island measures about 4½ by 10 feet. “I needed to plan the island size around the widest slab of stone I could find,” Ellison says. She added extra storage by placing four drawers on each side of the island. Dark bar stools and cabinet hardware add contrast to the lighter finishes in the room.
Cabinet hardware: Square bar pull in flat black, Top Knobs
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Cabinet hardware: Square bar pull in flat black, Top Knobs
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The island also includes the kitchen sink, the dishwasher, more storage and a recycling pullout. The clean-lined countertop edge adds to the contemporary style.
Flooring: Bilbao, Mediterranean collection, California Classics
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
Flooring: Bilbao, Mediterranean collection, California Classics
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
Before: The dining area was closed off from the kitchen. The door to the kitchen is on the left.
After: The open floor plan makes every area feel spacious and airy. “Because there were so many rectilinear lines in the kitchen, I really needed to add some curves in the adjacent dining area,” Ellison says. The oval table, Klismos chairs and light fixture soften the look of the first floor. And the pendant light’s sculptural shape fits in with the homeowners’ art collection.
Light fixture: Graffiti pendant, Hubbardton Forge
Light fixture: Graffiti pendant, Hubbardton Forge
This photo shows the open flow from the kitchen to the living room behind it. The stairs lead to the lower-level bedrooms.
Ellison tied together the living room and kitchen by repeating the same laminate she used on the island on the living room built-ins. This photo also shows how the change in ceiling height helps to delineate the kitchen from this room and the adjacent dining room, which is just out of view to the right.
On the floor plan, the living room is in the top left corner and the dining room is beneath it. The kitchen is at the lower right.
Ellison reports that her clients are thrilled with the change to an open floor plan. And after the five-year wait to have their condo rebuilt, they’re happy to have their vacation home back and to now spend more time there.
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Ellison reports that her clients are thrilled with the change to an open floor plan. And after the five-year wait to have their condo rebuilt, they’re happy to have their vacation home back and to now spend more time there.
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: This is a retired couple’s vacation home
Location: Napa, California
Size: 260 square feet (24 square meters)
Designer: Jane Ellison
Before: Keep in mind that this was not a remodel — everything seen here burned to the ground. But the photo shows the layout the couple had lived with before the fire. The home had a compartmentalized floor plan of rooms that were closed off from one another.
Twenty-two of the 55 condos in the community had burned to the ground, so the HOA had one architect design the new shells, plumbing and electrical systems. Then the homeowners had to take it from there. Between the heavy demand for skilled labor, the pandemic and supply chain issues, it was five years before the condo was move-in ready.
“These homeowners love to cook and to socialize. They have three adult children, a bunch of grandchildren and lots of friends they like to gather with here,” Ellison says. She knew an open layout would be more conducive to entertaining than a closed design would.