Kitchen of the Week: A Joyful Vibe for a Chelsea Loft
A designer creates a light and bright New York City kitchen with a few quirky surprises
This kitchen in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood needed a refresh. The kitchen, dining room and living room are all part of one open loft space. Interior designer Tamara Hubinsky described the existing kitchen as “a dark anchor that was dragging the whole space down.” Dark wood cabinets, a low ceiling and a wasted large window made the family of four that lives here crave something light and bright. Working within the existing footprint, Hubinsky came up with a new scheme that made the space functional and cheerful.
“My clients knew they wanted the kitchen to be bright and to bring joy. They also wanted it to feel sophisticated,” Hubinsky says. “Their style is somewhat buttoned-up, but they enjoy some fun surprises, they like to be intrigued and they like a few funky, quirky things.” For example, their light fixtures aren’t the most expected choices. “The linear fixture over the island gives off so much light, and it has really pretty brass detailing,” she says. “And a classic place for a globe pendant is over a table, but this one has a more playful shape.”
The main sink used to be in the island that’s closest to the living room. There was a backsplash behind the sink that was 45 inches high, and it was dated and awkward. Also, having the sink there did not make for the most efficient work triangle.
Hubinsky designed two new custom islands to replace the existing ones. She relocated the sink to the island that’s closer to the range, forming a tighter work triangle between the sink, the range and the fridge. That island holds the dishwasher and trash pullouts on the range-facing side. She outfitted the other side with deep drawers for large items like mixing bowls and serving platters. It’s hard to discern in the photos, but there’s over 3 feet between the two islands. She treated the second island as a sideboard that serves the living and dining areas.
Island paint: Steep Cliff Gray; cabinet paint: White Dove, both Benjamin Moore
The main sink used to be in the island that’s closest to the living room. There was a backsplash behind the sink that was 45 inches high, and it was dated and awkward. Also, having the sink there did not make for the most efficient work triangle.
Hubinsky designed two new custom islands to replace the existing ones. She relocated the sink to the island that’s closer to the range, forming a tighter work triangle between the sink, the range and the fridge. That island holds the dishwasher and trash pullouts on the range-facing side. She outfitted the other side with deep drawers for large items like mixing bowls and serving platters. It’s hard to discern in the photos, but there’s over 3 feet between the two islands. She treated the second island as a sideboard that serves the living and dining areas.
Island paint: Steep Cliff Gray; cabinet paint: White Dove, both Benjamin Moore
Another unexpected touch was adding grilles in the sideboard’s cabinetry. “They have a fun little square pattern, and we used powder-coated black instead of the more traditional metal finishes you’d usually see on grilles,” she says. She repeated the same grille pattern underneath the banquette seat, using it as a heating grate.
“We talked about what would go in every cabinet during the design process,” the designer says. The top row of cabinets in the sideboard provides space for extra liquor bottles, and she outfitted the lower cabinets with pullout wine racks.
Hire a cabinet pro
“We talked about what would go in every cabinet during the design process,” the designer says. The top row of cabinets in the sideboard provides space for extra liquor bottles, and she outfitted the lower cabinets with pullout wine racks.
Hire a cabinet pro
The range is by Blue Star and the vent hood has extra power. The backsplash is composed of 5-by-10-inch subway tile that has a beautiful glaze. “I love this tile from Artistic Tile. It looks like it’s hand-glazed, but it’s not, and it costs a lot less,” Hubinsky says. The scale of the rectangles suits the large space.
The countertops are Super White quartzite. This is a natural stone that resembles marble but is harder and therefore more durable.
The countertops are Super White quartzite. This is a natural stone that resembles marble but is harder and therefore more durable.
Past the range to the left, Hubinsky installed a custom appliance garage with a pullout tray. It houses the toaster oven, coffeemaker and microwave, and it keeps them out of sight when not in use. The shelf above the microwave serves as a tea station.
Just past the appliance garage on the left is a full cupboard that extends all the way to the floor. Look at the second photo to see how it bookends the run of cabinetry and provides a nice transition into the banquette space.
Just past the appliance garage on the left is a full cupboard that extends all the way to the floor. Look at the second photo to see how it bookends the run of cabinetry and provides a nice transition into the banquette space.
Hubinsky tucked the fridge and pantry cabinets behind the dining room’s built-in china cabinet. Pullouts provide easy access to the deep pantry cabinets. Just past the pantry cabinets, there is another entry into the kitchen off the hall.
“The kitchen has a wonderful large window, but they weren’t taking full advantage of it with the way the old kitchen was laid out. Dark cabinets blocked the light, and the kitchen table was off to the side,” Hubinsky says. “We wanted to celebrate the light that was there and put in really good seating so they’d enjoy hanging out here.” She designed a banquette that allows the light from the large window to brighten the kitchen. Underneath, one side has a heating grate and the other has two additional storage drawers.
She used two different highly durable, wipeable, stain-resistant, commercial-grade fabrics that do not look like typical vinyl. The bench is covered in a high-end nylon raffia. “It feels like horsehair,” she says. On the back of the seating she added a playful pattern, one of those fun surprises the homeowners’ like. The colors in the wallpaper play off the banquette fabrics beautifully. The designer repeated the same paper behind the glass cabinet doors of the dining room’s china cabinet.
Oak open shelving offers an opportunity for some whimsical touches. It provides display space for cookbooks and some of the homeowners’ other favorite things. And the shelves keep the area near the window more open than upper cabinets would have, allowing the large window to bathe the rest of the kitchen in light.
Fabric: Knoll; wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
Find the right wallpaper for your project
She used two different highly durable, wipeable, stain-resistant, commercial-grade fabrics that do not look like typical vinyl. The bench is covered in a high-end nylon raffia. “It feels like horsehair,” she says. On the back of the seating she added a playful pattern, one of those fun surprises the homeowners’ like. The colors in the wallpaper play off the banquette fabrics beautifully. The designer repeated the same paper behind the glass cabinet doors of the dining room’s china cabinet.
Oak open shelving offers an opportunity for some whimsical touches. It provides display space for cookbooks and some of the homeowners’ other favorite things. And the shelves keep the area near the window more open than upper cabinets would have, allowing the large window to bathe the rest of the kitchen in light.
Fabric: Knoll; wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
Find the right wallpaper for your project
“Whether you actually have an office space in the kitchen or not, you always wind up having one,” Hubinsky says with a laugh. In order to prevent stacks of mail, charging cords and other clutter from piling up on the counters, she added a mini office space. It includes shelves, a few junk drawers, a “junk tray” and a mini desk. One of the drawers has an outlet in it for charging devices, and there’s another outlet under the banquette that’s handy for laptops. The area enjoys all the great light from the window and also has a stylish modern task light.
Browse armed wall sconces in the Houzz Shop
Browse armed wall sconces in the Houzz Shop
The edge of the kitchen provides the dining area with a built-in china cabinet. Hubinsky incorporated glassware storage, a wine fridge and a countertop that serves as a bar. She extended the quartzite up the backsplash and added the banquette wallpaper to the back of the cabinet above it.
Furniture designer Andrew Dominic designed the fumed white oak dining table. It is crafted from sustainably harvested wood, and the finish does not contain any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The unexpected angles on the base are another intriguing touch.
The renovation could not have been completed at a better time, before the family had to hunker down together. “I ran into my clients’ college-age daughter, who has been spending a lot of time at home lately. She told me that she loves the banquette, that the dimensions are perfection, and that she had been spending almost all of her time at home in it,” the designer says. It was confirmation that her design was working for them exactly the way she’d planned.
Ivor Dining Table: Nested NY
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Furniture designer Andrew Dominic designed the fumed white oak dining table. It is crafted from sustainably harvested wood, and the finish does not contain any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The unexpected angles on the base are another intriguing touch.
The renovation could not have been completed at a better time, before the family had to hunker down together. “I ran into my clients’ college-age daughter, who has been spending a lot of time at home lately. She told me that she loves the banquette, that the dimensions are perfection, and that she had been spending almost all of her time at home in it,” the designer says. It was confirmation that her design was working for them exactly the way she’d planned.
Ivor Dining Table: Nested NY
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Chelsea neighborhood of New York City
Size: Just under 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Designer: Tamara Hubinsky Interiors
“I had been working on this loft for a while and we had been brightening it up and making it work better for their lifestyle,” Hubinsky says. “The kitchen was the last space we tackled — the cabinets were a bit dated and things in there had started to break.” The homeowners had the floor refinished not long before they started working with the designer and did not want to go through that again, so it was important that the kitchen’s footprint remained the same. It was just under 300 square feet and had two islands.
Because the kitchen is open to the living and dining areas, the designer eased the transitions between the rooms with functional, pretty pieces. On the left, she designed a built-in chest of drawers and topped it in the same quartzite she used for the kitchen countertops. The panels above it conceal a small kitchen office area. In the center, she outfitted an island with eye-catching grilles, and the piece serves the areas it faces as a sideboard. And on the right, a pretty built-in china cabinet serves the dining area as a bar while concealing the fridge from view.
While the ceilings in the living and dining areas were 10 feet high, the ceiling in the existing kitchen dropped to 8 feet. Hubinsky was able to remove the drop and raise the kitchen ceiling height to 9 feet.
Find an interior designer on Houzz