Kitchen
Raise Your IslandIf it's not so much kids or guests circulating into your kitchen space that bothers you, but more a need to disguise meal-prep messes, try raising the far end of your island. It will give visitors a nice place to perch at while you work at the sink or cooktop, too.
After: All partition walls in the common areas were removed, resulting in a smooth flow in the newly open living, dining and kitchen space. New walnut panels with built-in shelving were used strategically to maintain the midcentury feel. To open up and connect the kitchen to the living spaces, an area was cut out to expose the kitchen, Chan says.“The cutout of the corner with the top being hung from the ceiling structure involved some rather difficult details. Together with the dropped soffit, this hung corner sculpted the shape of the kitchen so that it anchors one corner of the great room,” Chan says.Sofa: Room & Board; armchair: Organic Modernism
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This dining table features a quartz top that can be used like an island countertop as needed.
1. Take charge. Designer Tracey Stephens was tasked with creating a retro-style kitchen that features vintage furniture and checkerboard floors for a New Jersey family of four. But the requirements of the technology age were not lost on the design. The kitchen includes a drawer with a built-in charger, complete with regular and USB outlets. “It’s so nice not to have all of those devices out and dealing with cords all the time,” homeowner Jody Suden says. Drawer charging station: Docking Drawer 18MoreHow to Refresh Your Kitchen on Any BudgetStash It All: Know the 3 Zones of Kitchen Storage
4. Natural selection. The heart of this Dallas kitchen is the island-breakfast bar, which features rich materials and a double waterfall structure. The raised breakfast bar is made of warm walnut, while the island top is white marble with gray veining. Homeowner and builder Chris Dauwe covered the space beneath the breakfast bar in reclaimed wood, sourced from a barn in North Carolina. Using natural-looking materials helped Dauwe achieve his goal of “a contemporary home with an industrial twist,” he says. Island and kitchen countertops: Mountain White marble; leather stools: Halo Styles
Pantry cabinet. This pantry cabinet in Ireland brings a highly efficient storage area into the kitchen workspace. Pantry storage areas like this are seen in the U.K., where it is known as a larder. It often is hidden behind double cabinetry doors in the kitchen rather than being in a separate room. The doors open to a storage system with open shelves on top, spice racks on the doors and bottom drawers or bins. The shelves usually are shallow enough so everything can be seen at a glance. This larder has a pullout work surface and a tall appliance shelf as a stand mixer, turning it into a baking center as well.See more U.K. pantries like this one
Focal-point shelving. This kitchen features a variation on the end-of-island storage idea, with built-in shelves on either side of the tall chairs. Because this kitchen opens to a seating area, the shelves and the items displayed on them — here, pottery and a cake stand — offer a place for the eyes to rest rather than just the chair backs. Island and wall cabinetry: color-matched to Van Deusen Blue HC-156, Benjamin Moore; perimeter cabinetry: color-matched to Chantilly Lace OC-65, Benjamin Moore; island countertop: white quartz; pendants: RejuvenationHow to Make the Most of Your Kitchen’s Back Side
Island drinks station. Rather than let the space at the end of the island go to waste, this homeowner installed a beverage refrigerator. Since guests are forever congregating around the kitchen island, this setup makes it easy for them to serve themselves — without getting in the way of the chef. Bar fridge: Vinopazzo, AG International; island cabinetry paint: Kendall Charcoal HC-166, Benjamin Moore; floor tile: Duomo in cream, Midgley West; countertop: quartz; pendant lights: Union Lighting
Island
book shelves for cook books
black industrial look of pantry
Island
Can’t see appliances
Change to concrete
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