Kitchen of the Week: Leafy Views and Smart Storage
A team of designers creates an open, airy and hardworking family kitchen in New York
If you’ve got a leafy backyard anywhere near New York City, you want to enjoy it as much as possible. But this family in Westchester County outside the city was unable to do so — the kitchen inside their 1910 Queen Anne home felt cut off from the greenery of several mature trees in the backyard.
In search of more space and a more meaningful connection to the outdoors, they hired kitchen designer Sarah Robertson, architect Ned Stoll and interior designer Tami Wassong. The design team swapped the location of the former kitchen with the family room, raised the roof and extended the layout a few feet into the backyard. This allowed the design team to add a large island, more storage and two walls of operable windows that beautifully connect the kitchen to the wooded backyard.
In search of more space and a more meaningful connection to the outdoors, they hired kitchen designer Sarah Robertson, architect Ned Stoll and interior designer Tami Wassong. The design team swapped the location of the former kitchen with the family room, raised the roof and extended the layout a few feet into the backyard. This allowed the design team to add a large island, more storage and two walls of operable windows that beautifully connect the kitchen to the wooded backyard.
Need a pro for your kitchen renovation & remodeling project?
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Custom oak cabinetry with a chevron pattern conceals the refrigerator and pantry storage on the right-side wall. “We knew we wanted both cabinets to be a different finish and a different style,” Robertson says. “[The homeowner] pulled up an inspiration photo from Houzz and it was a chevron pattern and that was it.”
Open shelves on top help lighten the visual weight and offer a spot for displaying collectibles and cookbooks.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Open shelves on top help lighten the visual weight and offer a spot for displaying collectibles and cookbooks.
Find a kitchen designer near you
Here’s a look at the storage wall with a refrigerator door open. “The doors have just an eighth-inch reveal around the edge, so you can make it look just like a cabinet,” Robertson says.
This photo also highlights the tray ceiling. The same oak used for the appliance wall clads the top portion of the ceiling. The kitchen’s warm floor has wide plank oak that coordinates with these other wood details.
The homeowners picked out the tubular frosted glass-and-metal industrial-style light fixture over the island. Long and lean striped rugs add a touch of color and pattern.
Shop for island seating
This photo also highlights the tray ceiling. The same oak used for the appliance wall clads the top portion of the ceiling. The kitchen’s warm floor has wide plank oak that coordinates with these other wood details.
The homeowners picked out the tubular frosted glass-and-metal industrial-style light fixture over the island. Long and lean striped rugs add a touch of color and pattern.
Shop for island seating
The pantry cabinet has three fixed shelves on top that include baskets for storing smaller items. Pullout shelves below store assorted dry goods.
A dry-erase board hangs on the inside of the left door for shopping reminders. The inside of the right door has a broom rack. “Our goal was to give them enough space for all the family’s dry-food storage, so it needed to be well-organized and designed,” Robertson says. “It also keeps a broom within easy reach of the kitchen’s main work area.”
A dry-erase board hangs on the inside of the left door for shopping reminders. The inside of the right door has a broom rack. “Our goal was to give them enough space for all the family’s dry-food storage, so it needed to be well-organized and designed,” Robertson says. “It also keeps a broom within easy reach of the kitchen’s main work area.”
Three vintage midcentury metal-and-wood stools designed by American architect and furniture designer Cleo Baldon offer seating at the marble-topped island. “I love the black iron and the integration of the oak dowels that pick up the cabinet hardware,” Robertson says.
Two appliance garages sit to the left of the fridge in an area used as a baking center. The left garage stores the family’s standing mixer. The other hides a toaster oven. “It reduces that whole feeling of clutter on the countertops,” Robertson says.
The cabinet hardware is hand-cast brass. “It has a lovely, aged patina,” Robertson says. “We wanted something with a modern profile but also with a historic finish.”
The cabinet hardware is hand-cast brass. “It has a lovely, aged patina,” Robertson says. “We wanted something with a modern profile but also with a historic finish.”
A corner cabinet pullout stores other small appliances and bakeware.
A tiered spice drawer sits between the range and baking center.
A tiered spice drawer sits between the range and baking center.
A pullout with two shelves for oils and vinegars also sits to the right of the range.
To the left of the range is a pullout for utensils. Nearby, floating rift-cut oak shelves display bowls, a cake stand and other accessories. “These keep the overall feel of the kitchen lighter and allow for easy reach of small bowls and other items,” Robertson says.
A cutting board slides into its own slot to the left of the sink. A drying rack tucks away neatly to the right. Both include leather pulls. “I wanted a cutting board that was super convenient to the sink, and that was a perfect spot for it,” Robertson says. “We’ve had other clients who liked having a drying rack, so we felt you could add a lot of utility there with those 3 inches.”
A bar area features cabinetry with the same chevron pattern used for the appliance wall. Upper glass-front cabinets offer storage for barware and stemware.
A round black table gives the family a spot for enjoying breakfast and outdoor views. The glass door leads to the backyard, dining area and grilling station.
A round black table gives the family a spot for enjoying breakfast and outdoor views. The glass door leads to the backyard, dining area and grilling station.
A desk area opposite the bar creates a family command center for managing schedules and schoolwork.
These floor plans show the layout of the light and airy new kitchen. The refrigerator wall is on the bottom right of the plans. The range wall is to the right. The sink wall is at top.
The improved design gives the busy family the functional and stylish space they wanted, with better connection to the backyard. “We were able to create a kitchen that keeps with the style of the rest of the home and uses traditional materials, but includes a bit of a modern twist,” Robertson says.
More on Houzz
See more Kitchens of the Week
Get kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer near you
Shop for kitchen products
The improved design gives the busy family the functional and stylish space they wanted, with better connection to the backyard. “We were able to create a kitchen that keeps with the style of the rest of the home and uses traditional materials, but includes a bit of a modern twist,” Robertson says.
More on Houzz
See more Kitchens of the Week
Get kitchen design ideas
Find a kitchen designer near you
Shop for kitchen products
Sponsored
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: A professional couple with three school-age sons
Location: Westchester County, New York
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters) before and 300 square feet (28 square meters) after
Designers: Sarah Robertson of Studio Dearborn (kitchen design), Ned Stoll of Stoll & Stoll Architects (architecture) and Tami Wassong Interiors (interior design)
Stoll came up with the idea of adding five expansive black-framed casement windows across the back on the range wall, with three more casement windows added on the side sink wall. “We wanted it to feel open to nature,” Robertson says. “They have a beautiful backyard with mature trees and privacy and wanted a view of that.”
The design team chose a warm historic gray-beige (Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore) for the custom maple cabinets and drawers with Shaker-style inset doors. “We wanted to keep the aesthetic fairly clean,” Robertson says. “The homeowner had seen this color in my lineup and thought it was a really pretty complement to the green outside, and she knew she didn’t want white.”
Robertson inset the range hood into the ceiling to keep the views to the yard unobstructed.