kitchen utilities
The floors are heart pine reclaimed from 100-year-old Navy pier pilings in Washington D.C. The dining table was hand-made from Virginia walnut grown on the farm of the homeowner’s great-grandfather. The stools were bought unfinished and then stained with the same oil and wax as the floor. Homeowner’s request: These newly empty nesters wanted a clean, fresh start for the next phase of their lives. The existing home was in poor condition, with small, dark rooms. They reconfigured the house so that everything they need would be on the ground floor, including the master suite. Upstairs sits a media room, office, two guest bedrooms and two bathrooms. Nontoxic and sustainable materials helped earn the home LEED Gold status. Who uses it: Margaret Anne Powers is a former schoolteacher. Her husband, Patrick, is a local physician. They designed the home to age in place, with all doors wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers if needed. The home is automated so that interior and exterior lights, security system, media components and temperature can controlled through smart phones and tablets.
The nitty-gritty: Wall and trim paint: Popped Corn (W-B 200); cabinetry: Essex inset door in custom Nordic White finish with rub throughs, Wood-Mode; floors: oak; window seat: reclaimed wood; counters and full height stone backsplash: 3 centimeter Carrara marble in a honed finish; sink: Shaws Original, Rohl; faucet: Twisthaus Collection in Pewter, Whitehaus; hardware: Normandy Collection in pewter, Top Knobs; pendant lights and chandelier: Pottery Barn; counter stools: Pottery Barn; range: Bosch; range hood: Best: refrigerator and microwave, Profile, GE; dishwasher: KitchenAid; dining table: trestle style, Pottery Barn
The most effective prep sinks are single-bowl, 16 to 21 inches wide, with a garbage disposal. The sink must be large enough to fit your largest colander and most frequently used pots and pans, without being so large as to waste important counter space. While the prep sink’s primary purpose is food preparation, you should also be able to comfortably wash a pot or pan within it as it comes off the stove. This allows the prep sink to function as a secondary cleanup sink after a large gathering.
Want a sink in your laundry room but don’t want to give up much-needed counter space? With a custom-fit sink cover like the one shown here, you can quickly transform your wash basin into a smooth surface for folding clothes. To get the most usable surface area, it’s best to choose a faucet that can pivot out of the way (like this one) rather than a fixed version.
After the homeowners saw a kitchen table built right into an island, they asked for something similar for their own open kitchen. They also wanted chairs for the kids, as opposed to counter stools. “We found the base and then designed a table, matching the finish to the chairs,” Hammel says. “The darker color matches the floors and provides a nice contrast with the all-white kitchen.”
They couldn’t find brick veneer products that offered an authentic style the homeowners were going for. So they cut real bricks into 1½ -to-2-inch thick pieces, then acid washed them to create a custom veneer.
A blue, custom range hood centers the kitchen. Shelves float on a backsplash of 2-by-4-inch field tiles with a crackle glaze. A 13-foot oak island topped in white Caesarstone offers plenty of seating.
This broom closet is really a fully equipped laundry station. Mop, broom and cleaning supplies are stored in doors with built-in shelving and hooks. This is the ultimate space saver — this laundry niche does it all.
vertical dividers that separate the ironing board from the broom and mop prevents them from leaning against one another and spreading out
This closet is just under 2 feet wide, but its door contains a handy wire bracket that corrals the vacuum extension wand.
Shallow cabinet makes use of the paneled space at the end of the oven bay that is often purely decorative.
Seeded glass-and-brass pendants outfitted with Edison bulbs provide light. Calacatta Oro marble counter mitered to appear 2¼ inches thick. Backsplash subway tile that is 8 by 4 inches rather than the common 6 by 3 inches.
kitchen is one big play on materials: The Calacatta Gold countertops, with their “beautiful balance of cool gray and warm taupe,” were the design gambit that inspired everything else. The wall cabinetry plays off that warm taupe in the counters, while the base cabinetry employs a French cerused-oak technique, a popular finish in the 1940s. Custom leather drawer pulls mix with nickel pulls for a blend of tradition with modernity, and the serene color palette balances cool and warm neutrals. The fridge and dishwasher hide behind cabinetry so that the millwork remains the focus.
Because we have the adjacent dining room, I didn’t want to see a sea of chairs,” Williamson says. “The clear acrylic allows them to blend into the island; they’re sturdy, super easy to clean and affordable.”
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