We have selected and ordered this cast stone fireplace, with carvings of beautiful antique garden tools, to enhance our kitchen family room fireplace. The piece is actually new, done by an artist named James Kelley in Tulsa OK. I had been working with Ashley Arnold, daughter of Jack Arnold, the Tulsa architect that I have followed for years for his French Country designs. This fireplace was straight out of one of my Charles Faudree books (also in Tulsa). To me, it is the perfect blend of Old World and Garden Style, and will blend nicely with some of the more casual and utilitarian aspects of the kitchen space.
Some Photos to set the tone for this space.....
A grand cabinet with rustic, yet elegant detail...
An inviting breakfast banquette to take in the views of our back yard...
A kitchen with rustic hand hewn barn beams exactly like what we want, multiple finishes in color tones we love, and an open family room area
An island with a combination stainless, checkerboard butcher block, and extra thick marble round top with a beautifully detailed edge....maximum utility and interest....
Same island, different view.
The Kitchen Design
The new kitchen design is not complete, but we have really honed in on the layout, as well as the feeling we want in terms of cabinet design and finishes for all aspects of the space.
Our kitchen will be the heart of the home. All of the design details that go into the kitchen will be present in other areas of the home too. I have written about our goals for the kitchen many times. Those posts are archived on this site, but this post is my effort to streamline all of the information into a neat format with as much detail as possible.
Location:
Those with a history of working with us on our home redesign will notice that in the current (and final) floor plan, we have flipped the kitchen to the end of the existing house from its original location. This places the kitchen at a central point in the new L-shaped house plan, and has opened up all sorts of opportunities to further define the utility and entertainment areas of the home.
The new wing for all the utility spaces and garage goes out to the front of the lot, and the more formal areas of the house will have a view of the pool and pool house, as well as the proposed new patio, grill, and garden areas. The new kitchen and family room will have a view or the willow trees we love so much, as well as the children's play area. The L-shaped home design really worked out perfectly to offer more privacy on our corner lot too.
This kitchen has many functional areas, yet each one was designed with its relationship to other aspects of the kitchen and home in mind. Of course, we are still open to all input since the actual kitchen will be part of a later phase, but I have reasons for doing almost everything I have done in this design, so any changes would be scrutinized as to how that decision would impact all of the other decisions.
The main reason to become so specific at this point is to be sure of all of the foundation decisions, such as the flooring selection, ceiling and beam treatment, window replacement, and overall layout pertaining to architectural symmetry will all be done with the end result in mind. Since we are making those decisions now, I have felt a pressing need to make as many other decisions as possible for this area, in order to be VERY SURE that I am not making any mistakes.
The Layout...
This is the new layout, with the redesigned turret and the (potential) step down. The entire kitchen with the supporting kids' hall and pantry spaces is shown just below.
Step down might look like this...
For greater ease in taking in this information, I will try to split the areas of the kitchen up into zones to discuss the functionality and finish style of each space.
Views /Doors and Windows
- Our kitchen will accentuate and integrate the exterior views of our house, the mature trees, the pool house/pool, and the planned landscaping (stone walls, patios, shrubs, grasses, container plantings), as well as a Kids' Play Area.
- Design of doors, windows, and cabinets at the back of the house should not distract the eye from looking outward. I love this photo that shows the outside of the breakfast area turret. The window lites are at the top of the window so that there is less cluttering of the view to the outside.
- We designed this kitchen so that the relationships of the kitchen to family room and other areas of the house all make sense. If there is a view from the family entrance, it should catch a pretty display view of the kitchen, not a view of a potentially messy area. Much effort was placed on using creative ways to hide the areas of greatest utility from general views of the space. Our current plan has most of the major appliances along the back wall of the kitchen for this reason. It keeps the appliances from competing with the exterior views, and it keeps any potentially cluttered areas from being the first impression of the space. The kids' snack/breakfast area is also hidden from view by a small wall within the island.
The Turret Breakfast Area
Our turret area now resembles the turret breakfast area below. Geri designed the one below too, so I feel really comfortable that it will look like this from the inside. The outside will be a little bit more like this one.( breakfast area turret ) The breakfast turret will have the best vantage point to look at the veranda, pool, trees, and kid's play area, making it a location to relax, yet keep tabs on what is going on.
These photos are from a home interior designed by Barry Dixon. I also like the nail head definition on the island counter top. Below is the chandelier and shades that we will use in our turret breakfast area. The table will probably be stone, cast concrete, or metal so that it will be durable and easy to clean with kids. It will either have a thick profile with a double ogee edge, or it may have the nail head design similar to the island hood. There will be a pedestal base that is easy to vacuum around (solid, not multiple legs). I will probably do tile on the floor of this space, maybe mosaic designed to look more like a rug, to cut down on the wear and tear of the chairs on the floor.
Exterior turret roof...
Potential ceiling design...
Chandelier for the space...
This is a custom concrete countertop with a decorative iron inlay. I thought this could be a spectacular detail for the turret breakfast table.
A potential table base.
Another potential base...
Elevation drawings
Elevation drawings I have worked on are below. They give a pretty rough idea of what some of the views might be like. A lot of refinement needs to be done.
This view is standing at the back wall of the kitchen, looking towards the family room.
This drawing shows a few key design ideas for our kitchen.
Island Cooking Center
The island cooktop consists of a group of custom metal cabinets designed to mimic a large La Cornue Range. I think something designed to look like the photo below, with the metal hood above it, would look incredible.
The U-shaped cooking and prep area will have a stainless (or other metal) countertop with an integrated sink, a part-induction/part-gas cooktop, knife storage, and trash access from the top for maximum utility and easy clean up. It will be flanked by a butcher block area on the right that completes the U-shape.
Putting the cooktop in this location allows the cook to have a view of the outside and any guests, both inside and out. The plating set-up and lazy susan allows delivery of items without walking around the island. The way that this area separates the work triangle from the other functional areas of the kitchen helps with flow of the entire kitchen space. Access to the kids' snack area, the coffee service station, the clean-up (Main) sink area, and necessary tabletop items can all be accomplished without entering my work triangle. From within my work triangle, I can easily access the refrigerator and freezer, as well as the pantry areas. Lastly, the trash receptacle in this area is useful during cooking, recycling, and clean up. It is also aligned with the kitchen exit to the garage, where the trash needs to leave the house. We may ultimately require another trash can in the main window sink area for clean up next to the Dishwashers.
Next, the island ceiling hood. We debated for a long time over putting the cook surfaces in the island. The big drawback was having to commit to a ceiling hood, which although beautiful, can also look obtrusive, especially when we are trying to maintain views of the outside. But, I really feel the island cooktop is the best answer for us to get all the functionality we want. It also prevents the elimination of any windows that would have been required if the cooktop were centered on one of the walls. From the exterior, those windows are important because any disruption would mean damage to the stone veneer we actually like.
So, for the hood design I have gravitated toward a zinc or pewter color, like the photo below. I think it will end up looking brighter than the copper, and thus, less looming. Also, I think it will blend beautifully with the exterior stone and the sofa fabric color we have chosen. I think the addition of gray tones up high will provide some balance with some of the other finish choices. Below are some design shapes that are appealing to me. The hood duct work may need to be integrated next to a support column for the upstairs floor (Note: Geri is trying to eliminate this support with an engineered steel beam hidden in the ceiling to support the floor above.), so I want to keep the design relatively simple and slim, especially at the top. This is an example of a decision that needs to be made now, so that we can accurately place the support and the rough in duct work.
The hood we design needs to have the contrasting metal straps, rivets, and a hanging rail. I don't anticipate hanging things from it, I just like how it looks.
Refrigerator/ Freezer Armoire
I want this to mimic my favorite custom cabinetry piece in finish and the top curves (see photo below). I have been looking for the right part of the kitchen to copy this piece. Since we won't have a lot of wall cabinetry, I think the refrigerator/freezer combo is the best bet because of its size..it can really make an impact, so it would be worth the investment in the customization.
One thought I have had is to play on the idea of the china cabinet look by doing glass panels and grills on the front of the armoire, and then slip some sort of canvas or digital photo mural behind wood grills and wavy glass showing the image of china cabinet contents. It is also kind of a compromise, because I wanted glass door refrigerators, but this way things always look neat. ;)
Like the door style of these blue cabinets.
Here is a big frig/freezer armoire, but I would replace the all-wood raised panels with glass and grills with an image behind them, such as one taken of the pretty dish collections below....or it could even be of crystal and pewter, little bits of greenery and Staffordshire dogs, straight out of a Charles Faudree vignette.
- Forth, the Family Room area will have a custom half wall that will be designed to look more like a sofa table.
The photo above shows an inspiration furniture piece, however, to do the half wall, I would do a tongue and groove wainscoting as a backing to the lower shelf. This will help to define the space for the family room furniture, and provide a sturdy immobile display area for lamps, picture frames, and an inviting floral arrangement as you enter the kitchen area. It will also provide some privacy for people who might be sitting on sofas and, by providing the lower view barrier, will direct attention over the seating area to the outside view.
- Fifth, The Family Room area Entertainment Wall with a cast limestone reproduction antique fireplace. This fireplace is small. (30"w x 30"H), so I wanted something that looked substantial, yet a little bit old world. The cast limestone fireplace juxtaposed with some of the other surfaces, such as the checkerboard butcher block and the zinc and antique brass custom hood, will give our kitchen area that eclectic young and old mix of characteristics we are looking for in the end result.
Above this fireplace will be Larry's 52" LCD Television, which will need to be installed in a way that blends with everything.
This is a view of the island (kind of from above) from the family room area. (Note: Geri is trying to remove the need for the support column with an engineered steel beam hidden in the ceiling to support the floor above.)
Example of a large scale lazy susan table done by Barry Dixon.
This view shows the 2 walls behind the island.
Both windows are existing, but would need to be adjusted to at least a 36" height from the current height of about 22" off the floor. We planned on replacing them anyway, but it will mean that the exterior stone will need to be addressed. Both windows will have very pretty views of different parts of our landscape.
The sink wall will give me an opportunity for some pretty open shelf storage on a tiled wall. This Contessa collection tile from Walker Zenger might be a dramatic option for the tiled wall. I am also thinking about doing more of a subway tile in a neutral color, but we saw this tile in San Francisco and it is so soft and nostalgic. The brown is appealing because it would provide contrast to the white dishes.
I did not want full wall cabinets here, because I never like working at a countertop as much when it is under cabinetry. I want it to feel as open as possible while still coming up with a nice use for the space. Semi-hidden shelves in the corners will be a great place for books, accessories.
The oven wall is focused on storing everything necessary to support baking, mixing,measuring, and roasting and broiling. I envisioned the ~24" tall pantry cabinet to be used for a lot of vertical storage of various pans and cookie sheets.
I love the look of this kitchen wall and how the corner was treated. It has these cozy little niches, perfect for creating a useful corner, but hiding potential clutter. I was thinking of hiding the Kitchen Aid mixer right on the countertop by using a cafe curtain on an iron rod hung from the first shelf, rather than a hard piece of cabinetry.
Here is an idea for the storage shelves, and below is another idea for the far window wall, but not as applicable to our situation.
The next two photos show the limestone cap on top of the small shelf separating the cooking area well from the rest of the island. I thought that the use of the limestone surface removed any hint of a contemporary look from the multi-level island.
Here is another potential way to do the open shelving against a tile wall.
This is a photo I found from an Atlanta custom kitchen designer's portfolio. The space is similar to our space, and incorporates all of the details we are considering too. I love how all of the elements come together to create a cozy yet interesting space.
I love the green ceiling!!! I would probably do wood colored beams and paint the tongue and groove boards green if I did this idea in our house.
This kitchen is outside my ordinary picks, but I find it so striking with all of the utilitarian elements coming together into something so interesting. I am fast becoming a fan of Mick DeGuilio.
The photo below struck me because it has so many elements that I am looking for in our design. Color, (Greens, warm reds, golds, browns) with metals, great fabrics, and both rustic and formal elements. Incidently, the mini office area that is part of this kitchen, is what I had envisioned for my own office. A nice wide workspace in front of the window, with the tall cabinets pushed all the way to the ends of the wall.
I selected this photo for the look of the ceiling and the windows. I also like the black and cream distressed cabinetry.
One of Barry's kitchens, this whole house is amazing. I love the beams, the plastered niche, the cabinet drawer design and the overall look.
The extra thick edge detail of this countertop is appealing. I would see this on the island bar/seating area and turret table.
More color, hand hewn beams, and rustic elegant cozy kitchens.
A kitchen with multiple finishes, including the big round wood bread and cheese area, or ? lazy susan.
Multiple finishes. Extra thick edge detail on the white marble.
Colors. Soft greens, warm orangey-red, woods and metals all together.
One of Lois's kitchens. Beautiful finishes and colors, with a lot more detail that we need, but I definitely love the mixture of finishes. I want my kitchen to have a bit more of a commercial or utilitarian look than this one.
Ceiling design possibility.
Some notes on Display....
- We would like to display a lot of items that might not be used every day. I have a growing collection of white/cream large platters and bowls, as well as white embossed Italian buffet plates that I love. Most of these items do not fit in wall cabinets and can be easily forgotten in base cabinets. I would use all of these items more if they were visible and easily accessible. The current idea is to put a lot of them on iron bracket shelves along the sink wall, with some items we use all the time, such as the hanging coffee mugs.
- Blue and White Staffordshire collection, not extensive, but I always notice this detail in kitchens I seem to gravitate towards. (Also present in the Stephanie Sokolove kitchen)
- Family photos--Always make a kitchen seem more real.
- Accessories
- Fabrics bring in color (Colors: red, gold, greens, hydrangea blue) Red and gold accents to tie into our other fabrics and furniture. Pillows on the sofa and banquette. Most likely will be using Pierre Deux red/gold toile chandelier shades on the chandelier I would like to use in the breakfast area.
- Crystal, china, silver, used in the kitchen (Maybe as frig mural) or butler's pantry
- Floral
- Iron, oil rubbed bronze, or antique brass hardware
- Other rustic items. I love the more casual rustic look of pewter. I might do a small collection of frames and pewter pitchers filled with greenery. Maybe some of the cabinet hardware could compliment this idea.
- Our china pattern is Lenox Jefferson (discontinued)
- Silver is Kirk Stieff Worthington Gold
- Crystal is Araglin from Waterford
- Shelf brackets/countertop supportI like the shape.
- Functionality / Other Considerations
Lighting of wall, display areas, any other special spots, need suggestions……we know this is HUGE to create the feeling we want.
- Sconces, especially near the banquette, the main sink wall window, and the baker's area to create a mood at night.
- Chandelier pot racks (We have two F9107 Troy Lighting Trellis Six-Light Kitchen Pot Racks that we would like to use over the island.) I am actually not sure if these will fit into the plan, but if not I will use them in the guest house.
- Breakfast area light will be the chandelier we have in the dining room now. (World imports 8 Lt CHANDELIER" # 61800-58
- Recessed lights should all have dimmers.
- ****Remember outlets for Christmas decorations.
