Award-Winning Kitchen

“The door into the dining room was eliminated in favor of a wide pass-through, equipped with art-glass folding doors on the dining side. An inviting wide walkway, lined with display cabinets, now links the breakfast room and living room. The breakfast room’s greenhouse window became French doors with sidelights from Pella, which are all triple-glazed, double low E for heat control. In front of the sidelights we designed custom built-ins to show off the clients’ antique glass collection,” explains Walter. “Right outside these doors is a new triangular bump in the deck for outdoor eating, with new stairs leading down to the yard. Finally, the garage door was relocated to allow for a larger pantry.”

Modern Perspective
Once the angles were all configured and the space was opened up, Walter and Thomas turned their attention to creating a light and contemporary style.

The clients requested a low-maintenance, flat-slab door, so the duo installed Crystal Cabinet Works’ Redondo Chamfered, flat-slab, grain-matched door style with a clear alder veneer in a natural finish and an 1/8" chamfered, solid-wood edge.

The cabinet pulls were deliberately oversized to be virtually continuous. “There are five lengths used, depending on the dimension of the door or drawer for which it was intended,” notes Walter.

Color was also confidently used, notes Walter. Red, orange, black, brown and green were blended in the glass tile backsplash behind the secondary cook center, which features a Wolf 15" Integrated cooktop. “Random-colored cork tiles in the brown field floor tile to repeat colors in the glass tile were also installed,” says Walter.

Purple, gold and green low-voltage pendants add color and sparkle to the space, as well.

Two colors of granite were also combined in the kitchen. “The countertops are Kashmir White granite on the perimeter cabinets, and Labrador Antique on the island,” elaborates Walter.

Storage was also a key issue. “The clients have a late-career marriage, combining households both with substantial inherited housewares that required storage and accessibility for special occasions,” explains Thomas.

The solution was to create a substantial pantry area that allows the fine china and glassware to be carefully washed and stored safely away from prep tools, pots and pans.

“The old walk-in pantry went away altogether, as well as the back hall area, which had a powder room, a laundry sink and some cabinets that were more intensely outfitted for storage and work. It paved the way for the new pantry, which was equipped with floor-to-ceiling cabinets, a Kindred KSS2U sink with a Hansgrohe Axor 35807801 faucet and an existing Bosch dishwasher,” explains Walter. “The false ceiling was also removed, which allowed us to raise the ceiling height to 8', and allowed us to use 42"-high uppers everywhere.”

The main Kindred KSDC2U sink was positioned in the triangular bay that also features triple-glazed Pella windows. “The sink got the place of honor in the bay, with its sweeping 180° view of the mountains,” says Walter. It has a Hansgrohe Axor 35807801 faucet, an In-Sink-Erator HC1100 Instant Hot water dispenser and In-Sink-Erator Pro 77 disposal.

To mirror the angle of the sink area, Walter and Thomas “bent” the island into the angled sink bay. Doing so provided ample seating for family and friends who visit often to observe the master chefs at work. The Wolf 36" gas rangetop and Vent-a-Hood PYDH18 overhead hood sit at the end of the island facing out toward guests and close to the sink and GE monogram 36" built-in bottom freezer refrigerator.

“Both of the clients cook, so they needed several separate cooking stations,” says Thomas. As a result she and Walter allotted space for a baking center, secondary cooking elements and warming drawer to the left of dining room pass-through, a wet bar with dish drawer and wine storage to the right of the pass-through for him, and the traditional cooktop, sink and refrigerator for her. The separate work centers “provide good and uncontentious traffic flow during preparation and serving,” remarks Thomas.

Wolf 30" double ovens, a Wolf WD30 warming drawer, a Sharp R530ES microwave, a GE Monogram ZDIS15CSS automatic icemaker, a Fisher & Paykel dishdrawer dishwasher, and a Sub Zero 700BR wine refrigerator complete the appliance roster.

A combination of halogen recessed cans and undercabinet lights, and the aforementioned pendants, illuminate the kitchen and finish the design.