Kitchen of the Week: White and Wood Perk Up a Chef’s Space
New cabinets, top-end appliances and a rustic-meets-classic style mark a sunny San Diego home
After living for years with a dark, cramped kitchen stuck in the 1980s, a private chef and his wife decided to move their renovation plans to the front burner and create a space fit for a culinary pro. Now they have an understated and elegant kitchen that’s great for cooking, unwinding and socializing.
AFTER: Taylor says the first big steps were removing an outmoded drop ceiling and doubling the 30-inch opening between the kitchen and the dining room. This invited the kitchen not only into the dining room, to the left, but also into the nearby family room.
The layout of the new cabinets provides easily accessed zones for prep, storage, cooking and cleaning. Undercabinet lighting and angled power strips brighten the counters. More light filters in from the new bi-fold window that replaced the original sliding door.
Cabinets: Medallion Cabinetry; cabinet hardware: Dierdra collection in oil-rubbed bronze, Berenson; window: LaCantina Doors; power strips: Task Lighting
Cabinets: Medallion Cabinetry; cabinet hardware: Dierdra collection in oil-rubbed bronze, Berenson; window: LaCantina Doors; power strips: Task Lighting
The lightweight window requires no sill. A porcelain bar top secured by stainless steel brackets now allows food and drinks to be passed to the outdoor area.
The chef also set his sights on top-notch Thermador appliances, including the dishwasher, range, hood, 36-inch French-door refrigerator and 24-inch integrated microwave.
Two open wooden shelves are functional yet decorative, holding accessories, dinnerware and cookbooks while warming up the mostly neutral palette.
Another must for the chef was an elegantly designed checkerboard butcher block countertop.
Another must for the chef was an elegantly designed checkerboard butcher block countertop.
The block is made of endgrain walnut, sapwood and sapele, an African wood similar to mahogany.
Butcher block: Grothouse
Butcher block: Grothouse
The homeowners wanted a focal point that would lend a bit of drama without competing with the quartz countertops and the 2-by-8-inch porcelain subway tile backsplash. The motif above the range was created with four 12-by-12-inch Lagos Azul limestone tiles and a complementing ornamental border.
Tiles: San Diego Marble & Tile
Tiles: San Diego Marble & Tile
Nothing helps streamline the art of cooking like a large, deep kitchen sink. The homeowners chose a classic farmhouse-style sink in a biscuit hue and accessorized it with such upscale features as the gooseneck faucet, soap dispenser, cold water filter and garbage disposal air switch.
Sink: Blanco; faucet: Waterstone, The Faucet Factory
Sink: Blanco; faucet: Waterstone, The Faucet Factory
The team replaced a small window with a single swing door to allow in more light. The door can be pushed open or closed with just the slight thrust of a shoulder when hands are full. A floor-to-ceiling pantry fits nicely into a tight nook.
After widening the opening to the dining room, Taylor milled strips of reclaimed wood to random lengths, framed the opening and wrapped a structural beam above the hood.
He continued the rustic detailing on the other side of the wall in the dining room.
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Find a kitchen designer near you
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A private chef, his wife and their two children
Location: San Diego
Size: 215 square feet (20 square meters)
Contractor: Kerry W. Taylor of TaylorPro Design and Remodeling
BEFORE: With aging appliances and inadequate workspace, the original U-shaped kitchen was squeezed next to an expendable breakfast area. Rather than build an addition, the homeowners and their design team chose to work within the existing footprint.
“The homeowners’ main goal was to have a gourmet kitchen that could seamlessly blend with their outdoor space,” says designer-contractor Kerry W. Taylor, who led the $110,000 renovation project.