Room of the Day: Soothing Kitchen With a Clever Range Hood Hack
Creamy whites and neutral accents keep this kitchen understated. A design trick makes the hood look more expensive
Savings: The clients originally wanted a metal range hood, but their budget didn’t allow for one given the other changes to the kitchen. So Imber had a vent hood custom-made out of wood, and a faux painter painted it to look like metal. The two vertical lines on the hood are stainless steel straps riveted to the frame. “It gave the look of the metal hood but without the price point of a metal hood,” Imber says.
Beneath the hood is a backsplash that’s made from the same Perla Venata quartzite as the countertop, to keep a cohesive feel in this part of the kitchen. “We didn’t want a different product because that would invite another element into the room,” Imber says. But to add interest, the backsplash has a curved cutout on each side, filled in with shiplap.
Lighting: The sconces create direct task lighting that shines down on the sink. To bounce more light throughout the room, Imber installed antique mirror fronts on the vertical cabinets that flank the hood.
Appliances: The Sub-Zero refrigerator, shown on the right side of this photo, is barely noticeable, thanks to paneling painted to match the cabinetry.
Library sconces: Boston by E.F. Chapman via Circa Lighting; range and oven: Wolf; steam oven: Miele
Beneath the hood is a backsplash that’s made from the same Perla Venata quartzite as the countertop, to keep a cohesive feel in this part of the kitchen. “We didn’t want a different product because that would invite another element into the room,” Imber says. But to add interest, the backsplash has a curved cutout on each side, filled in with shiplap.
Lighting: The sconces create direct task lighting that shines down on the sink. To bounce more light throughout the room, Imber installed antique mirror fronts on the vertical cabinets that flank the hood.
Appliances: The Sub-Zero refrigerator, shown on the right side of this photo, is barely noticeable, thanks to paneling painted to match the cabinetry.
Library sconces: Boston by E.F. Chapman via Circa Lighting; range and oven: Wolf; steam oven: Miele
Surprise: On the other side of the kitchen window, the homeowners have a covered outdoor living room as well as an outdoor kitchen. The pass-through window makes it easier to convey food from indoors to out.
Builder: M.T. Morris Construction
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Builder: M.T. Morris Construction
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Historic Brookhaven neighborhood of Atlanta
Size: 264 square feet (24.5 square meters)
Backstory: A couple downsized into this 1947 home in Atlanta’s Historic Brookhaven neighborhood. They wanted to bring more natural light into their kitchen and give it a more open feel.
Scope of work: The square footage of the kitchen stayed the same, but designer Lauren Davenport Imber of Davenport Designs added windows and moved the refrigerator and stove. The resulting new kitchen is calm, neutral and soothing. “We didn’t really have a design style,” Imber says. “Just something that was comfortable, casual and very effective for everyday living.”
Cabinets and shelves: “The client preferred drawers over cabinet doors,” Imber says, and wanted deep drawers for storing pots and pans. The style of the cabinets is flat panel, with a trim inset added.
Most of the everyday items are kept on the open shelving. Dust isn’t an issue for the items displayed there, Imber says, because the client uses most of them every day. Though placing an upper cabinet between the windows was an alternative, “adding another cabinet to the space would have blocked your views and made it feel very closed in between those two windows,” Imber says.
Wall treatment: Imber installed shiplap paneling, painted in Benjamin Moore’s China White, to give the walls architectural interest.
Dishware: Juliska; antique Oushak rug: Parviz Oriental Rugs; paint on kitchen cabinets: White Dove OC-17, Benjamin Moore; barstools: Marcello counter stool, Ballard Designs, upholstered in Leaflet fabric in Mist, Arc-Com