A Kitchen Design to Fit Her Taste and His
The wife loves anything sleek and gray, while the husband wanted warmth. This kitchen makes room for both styles
Island: The island is painted in a gray with blue undertones, balancing the orange undertones of the cabinetry.
Countertops: Both countertops are Silestone; the perimeter counter is a dark gray, the island counter a lighter shade.
Appliances: The couple are vegetarian and cook for themselves and their extended family frequently. “It was important for them to be able to cook a lot at the same time, which is why they have six burners,” Riguerra says. The range and oven combination includes a steam oven, which works well for steaming vegetables. Find range hoods
Wall paint: Boothbay Gray HC-165, Benjamin Moore; island paint: Puritan Gray HC-164, Benjamin Moore; perimeter counter: Silestone Altair; island counter: Silestone Cygnus; range: 48-inch Professional Series Pro Grand commercial-depth dual-fuel steam range PRD48JDSGU, Thermador; range hood: 48-inch Professional Series 24-inch-depth chimney wall hood with blower HPCB48NS, Thermador; find more kitchen appliances
Countertops: Both countertops are Silestone; the perimeter counter is a dark gray, the island counter a lighter shade.
Appliances: The couple are vegetarian and cook for themselves and their extended family frequently. “It was important for them to be able to cook a lot at the same time, which is why they have six burners,” Riguerra says. The range and oven combination includes a steam oven, which works well for steaming vegetables. Find range hoods
Wall paint: Boothbay Gray HC-165, Benjamin Moore; island paint: Puritan Gray HC-164, Benjamin Moore; perimeter counter: Silestone Altair; island counter: Silestone Cygnus; range: 48-inch Professional Series Pro Grand commercial-depth dual-fuel steam range PRD48JDSGU, Thermador; range hood: 48-inch Professional Series 24-inch-depth chimney wall hood with blower HPCB48NS, Thermador; find more kitchen appliances
Cookbook storage: Riguerra created this cabinetry area with open shelving to hold the family’s collection of cookbooks. She notes that some people are doing away with microwaves, but in the end these homeowners opted to have one. “She’s a mom and, just like me, she still needs to reheat her coffee,” Riguerra says. “You still need it to make popcorn.”
Floor: Maple finished in a custom stain
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Floor: Maple finished in a custom stain
More
Homeowner’s Workbook: How to Remodel Your Kitchen
Details That Count: 17 Designer Tips for a Great Kitchen
Find a kitchen designer near you
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Size: 190 square feet (17.7 square meters)
Location: Palo Alto, California
Designers: Architect Pearl Renaker of Tektive Design and designer Liza Riguerra of Riguerra Design
The backstory: The two owners of this kitchen in a newly built home have different tastes. She prefers a sleek, contemporary look, while he craves warm finishes. “I would show them pictures and she would say ‘Oh, I love it,’ and he would say ‘That’s too cold,’ ” designer Liza Riguerra says. She found the right compromise in a kitchen that marries cool blue-gray finishes with warm wood tones.
Layout: The kitchen opens to the family room, says Pearl Renaker, the architect, and symmetry was important. “The island is centered, and the range is centered with respect to the island when you’re looking at the kitchen,” Renaker says. Locating the sink at the window instead of the island kept the island uncluttered and available as a flexible space for meal prep or the kids’ projects. Double skylights brought in more natural light.
Cabinets: Riguerra designed the cabinets with clean slab doors to get the contemporary look the wife wanted, and she chose warm alder wood finished with a custom stain to please the husband. “They wanted a lot of storage, so that’s why I took it up to the ceiling,” Riguerra says of the cabinetry.
Backsplash: “I wanted the backsplash to have some texture,” Riguerra says, so she chose a glass mosaic tile in subdued blues and grays.
Backsplash: Color Wave mosaic tile in Willow Waters CW21, Daltile; pendants: Y Lighting; see more backsplash tile