Integrated Kitchen Design Facilitates Entertaining

Integrated Kitchen Design Facilitates Entertaining

by Janice Anne Costa

NEWPORT BEACH, CA
When your clients are named "the Butlers," you have to expect that entertaining might be a priority. So when designer Gary White, CID, CKD, CBD, of the Newport Beach, CA-based Kitchen & Bath Design, was asked to redesign his clients' kitchen to make it more cook- and entertainment-friendly, he knew just where to start.

"Hip contemporary" was the design aesthetic the clients were looking for, and White's selection of materials, colors and shapes reflected this theme, from the uniquely shaped island to the contemporary-styled Hallmark cabinets with black channels and custom crown moldings.

Entertaining large groups of people was a priority for the clients, but they also requested a design that would allow for informal entertaining that centered around the kitchen. Since the husband enjoyed cooking, and liked to be able to chat with guests while preparing meals, the clients needed a layout that would facilitate a more open traffic flow in the kitchen.

The original kitchen was separated from the family room by a breakfast room, creating three separate walled environments, according to White. "Our design called for the removal of all these walls separating the spaces, to create one integrated environment for cooking, eating, living and partying."

To separate the kitchen from the family room, White installed what he jokingly dubbed "the Stealth Island," so named because of its odd shape, which he says is "reminiscent of a bomber." 

In addition to adding visual interest, the island acts as "a combination dining table, home office, serving station, butler's pantry, bar and party central," he notes.

The island contains two doorless cabinets designed to showcase the clients' wine collection. In addition, a Marvel refrigerated wine cabinet keeps wine readily accessible for entertaining.

This area also provides storage space for serving utensils, as well as two "stay-hot" ovens for guests 
to help themselves. This allows the clients to more easily prepare and serve separate dishes, such as vegetarian and non-vegetarian fare essential to one who likes to entertain a wide variety of guests.

The island's two-level design not only provides aesthetic appeal, but also conceals the necessary tools to make the island functional as a home office. However, when the clients want to entertain, the phone and other office items can be readily concealed under the upper wing, out of sight of guests, White notes.

White believes that the new, more open layout was key to this design's success, providing an easy traffic flow that enhances entertaining, for groups both large and small. "The walls between the dining area and family room were removed, and the entry was reworked so that the kitchen transitions to the family room and entry at an angle, facilitating passage and inviting guests inside," he explains.

To make a dramatic visual statement in the kitchen, the commercial-style Viking range was placed at "center stage," surrounded by Hallmark open-base cabinets with Omega door style in Wilsonart Fusion Maple. The contemporary-styled cabinets feature black channels and a custom molding with black stripes, for added visual appeal, while the black interiors set off the custom stainless steel roll-outs and the clients' collection of gourmet cookware.
 
In addition, four cabinets were done without doors, and feature black melamine interiors, White notes.

With the openness of the floor plan, coordination was also key. Accordingly, the audio/visual wall system was done "in a simple shaker style in natural maple hardwood, with black pulls that match the custom pulls on the refrigerator and bar cabinets," White notes. Rich granite counters and backsplash provide added elegance.

The kitchen also features a host of time-saving appliances, including a Bosch dishwasher, G.E. Microwave and Vent-A-Hood ventilating unit. 

The refrigerator, too, adds to the uniqueness of the design. White selected a Sub-Zero 532 (this was before the 600 series, White says) that "was customized to accept full cabinet fronts without backing and no reveals by exchanging parts with the then-new stainless steel model and wing cutting the doors, inserting them from the top, which then allowed for the installation of custom pulls."