Kitchen Design
Industrial Touches Shine in a Charming Black-and-White Kitchen
A riveted stainless steel hood and floors that look like rolled steel give this New Jersey kitchen an industrial edge
These New Jersey homeowners thought they needed some help just with paint colors when they called on designer Rob Stuart to decorate a home they were building on a cul-de-sac with Manhattan views. But when Stuart arrived with his vision for an industrial yet comfortable kitchen for this young, casual family of four who love to cook, their plans quickly changed. Antique finishes, a custom hood, a padded swinging door and porcelain floors that resemble rolled steel are among the highlights of this industrial-meets-farmhouse kitchen.
A pair of antique casement windows flank the stove. Stuart had them cleaned up, studded with oversize nailheads and painted black to feel industrial, in line with the room’s lighting scheme.
Stuart crowned the stove with a custom hood and antiqued mirror mosaic tile accent that together really call attention to the space. The subway tile he selected for the rest of the wall is crackled and was grouted before sealing it so the black grout seeped into the cracks to make them pop. This trick served to “relax” the tile and make it look really antique.
Stuart crowned the stove with a custom hood and antiqued mirror mosaic tile accent that together really call attention to the space. The subway tile he selected for the rest of the wall is crackled and was grouted before sealing it so the black grout seeped into the cracks to make them pop. This trick served to “relax” the tile and make it look really antique.
Stuart created what he calls “non-track track lighting” above the bar, where a custom track shines targeted light onto each industrial bar stool. Just beyond the bar area, Stuart had a local fabricator craft faux beams out of recycled wood, infusing a more casual feel that could make a person forget they were standing in a brand-new home.
Around the windows, architectural built-in valances stop the glare and hide solar shades that pull up into them.
Find industrial bar stools
Around the windows, architectural built-in valances stop the glare and hide solar shades that pull up into them.
Find industrial bar stools
A padded, upholstered swinging door has become one of the most talked-about features of the space. “People see it and always want it, because it breaks the predictability of demarcating every space with the same wood door,” Stuart says. Instead, silvered vinyl upholstery with a mirror in place of the more expected restaurant-style window feels like an English pantry door, and, indeed, it leads to the pantry.
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Kitchen at a Glance
Who uses it: A professional in the financial industry, a school counselor and their two teenage boys
Location: Teterboro, New Jersey
Size: 384 square feet (35.7 square meters)
Designer: Rob Stuart Interiors
The white cabinets had already been ordered before designer Rob Stuart hit the scene, but the kitchen island presented an opportunity to create a real furniture piece for the room. Stuart personally hand-antiqued it using dark charcoal paint.
For the floors, Stuart selected a porcelain tile that resembles rolled steel with hints of rust. “I love it in spaces that are either very bright or very dark,” the designer says, “because it creates a volume of light that bounces around the room.” The tiles have their own patina and, up close, look aged.