Kitchen of the Week: A Modern Mix of White, Wood and Blue
A designer helps a San Francisco couple create a calm and clean-lined space with a touch of textured geometric pattern
A San Francisco couple who work in the medical field bought their contemporary three-story hillside home as a place where they could relax after their busy work days. But the existing U-shaped kitchen with a generic look and a wall that separated the space from the dining room didn’t align with their goal.
So they hired designer Christine Lin to help them create a calm, clean-lined and more open kitchen that reflects their love of organic and geometric textural patterns, handmade design details and entertaining. Lin relocated appliances, removed a wall and designed a peaceful color palette of white, wood and soft blue.
So they hired designer Christine Lin to help them create a calm, clean-lined and more open kitchen that reflects their love of organic and geometric textural patterns, handmade design details and entertaining. Lin relocated appliances, removed a wall and designed a peaceful color palette of white, wood and soft blue.
After: Taken from the same angle as the previous photo, this view shows how Lin eliminated the wall between the kitchen and dining room to create a more open L-shaped layout with an island. “We had to add a beam where the wall was for support,” Lin says.
She relocated the existing dishwasher and refrigerator to the right of the new sink, which she positioned symmetrically below the window. She moved the wall ovens and cooktop to the left wall.
An updated palette of white, wood and soft blue delivers a soothing vibe intentionally created as a counterpoint to the homeowners’ busy days working in the medical profession. “Because my clients have jobs that are stressful, they wanted to come home to a place that was calm, peaceful and relaxing,” Lin says. “We wanted to bring in warmth with the wood but not be overpowering. The white uppers keep things clean.”
The wood cabinets are rift white oak. The uppers are matte white. Slab fronts without hardware also keep the design looking clean.
Cabinets: Westwood Design
She relocated the existing dishwasher and refrigerator to the right of the new sink, which she positioned symmetrically below the window. She moved the wall ovens and cooktop to the left wall.
An updated palette of white, wood and soft blue delivers a soothing vibe intentionally created as a counterpoint to the homeowners’ busy days working in the medical profession. “Because my clients have jobs that are stressful, they wanted to come home to a place that was calm, peaceful and relaxing,” Lin says. “We wanted to bring in warmth with the wood but not be overpowering. The white uppers keep things clean.”
The wood cabinets are rift white oak. The uppers are matte white. Slab fronts without hardware also keep the design looking clean.
Cabinets: Westwood Design
Crisp white walls with an eggshell finish and a white ceiling with a flat finish (both Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore) provide a simple backdrop for the wood cabinets and existing hardwood floor that Lin had refinished and patched as needed.
The backsplash is soft blue ceramic tiles with a creamy ribbed moon design that adds major personality and pattern.
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The backsplash is soft blue ceramic tiles with a creamy ribbed moon design that adds major personality and pattern.
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Custom rift white oak shelves provide a place to store and display the homeowners’ collection of Heath Ceramics. “One of the goals of the kitchen was to display their ceramics,” Lin says. “The shelves were a good stopping point for the tile we used, and it gave us a transition between the ovens and the bay window.”
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New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
The island houses a prep sink and beverage cooler on the end so guests can grab a drink without walking into the main work area. A 24-inch microwave drawer (not shown) sits in the end facing the refrigerator.
Two island pendants feature shades made with ceramic and hand-woven reed. The flush-mount light with an unglazed clay shade above the sink coordinates with the pendants, and the same fixture is used by the bay window. The lighting design also includes undercabinet lights and a few ceiling lights, which were removed from these photos by the photographer.
Pendants: Woven solo pendant in solid natural, Pigeon Toe Ceramics
Two island pendants feature shades made with ceramic and hand-woven reed. The flush-mount light with an unglazed clay shade above the sink coordinates with the pendants, and the same fixture is used by the bay window. The lighting design also includes undercabinet lights and a few ceiling lights, which were removed from these photos by the photographer.
Pendants: Woven solo pendant in solid natural, Pigeon Toe Ceramics
A custom hood surround blends the appliance in with the upper cabinets. “We wanted a clean-lined look, and this produces that,” Lin says. A 30-inch gas cooktop also delivers clean lines.
A narrow custom rift white oak shelf displays ceramics and stores spices near the cooktop.
This photo also offers a close-up look at the statement backsplash and its curvy design and soft colors, including putty-colored grout lines. “[The tiles] give the kitchen a more playful, organic character, and they juxtapose against the straight lines of the cabinetry,” Lin says.
The polished white quartz counters with an eased edge offer a durable, nonporous work surface that is resistant to staining. “We wanted something very clean and simple, and this particular quartz matches our paint colors perfectly,” Lin says.
Backsplash: Modern field tile, Ribbed Moon in Blue Mist, Ann Sacks; countertop: Blanco Zeus, 2 centimeters, polished, eased edge, Silestone
This photo also offers a close-up look at the statement backsplash and its curvy design and soft colors, including putty-colored grout lines. “[The tiles] give the kitchen a more playful, organic character, and they juxtapose against the straight lines of the cabinetry,” Lin says.
The polished white quartz counters with an eased edge offer a durable, nonporous work surface that is resistant to staining. “We wanted something very clean and simple, and this particular quartz matches our paint colors perfectly,” Lin says.
Backsplash: Modern field tile, Ribbed Moon in Blue Mist, Ann Sacks; countertop: Blanco Zeus, 2 centimeters, polished, eased edge, Silestone
The white 30-inch apron-front single-bowl sink that replaced the old stainless drop-in sink has a durable, smooth and glossy finish and a sleek pull-down faucet. “They had a request for a farmhouse sink, and we wanted to keep things light and airy,” Lin says. “That’s why we selected this white sink.”
The more open layout and soothing palette of the new kitchen give the homeowners an uplifting place where they can unwind at the end of a busy day.
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The more open layout and soothing palette of the new kitchen give the homeowners an uplifting place where they can unwind at the end of a busy day.
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 couple who work in the medical field
Location: San Francisco
Size: 230 square feet (21 square meters)
Designer: Christine Lin of Form + Field
Before: The owners disliked the basic style of the former kitchen — white walls, granite countertops and a hardwood floor that needed refinishing. The U-shaped layout closed the space off from the dining room on the other side of the oven wall. And the stainless steel refrigerator stuck out into the traffic flow.
But the previous owners had recently upgraded many of the appliances, so the homeowners wanted to incorporate those into the new design.
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