Kitchen of the Week: Texas Chic in Black, White and Wood
A butler’s pantry, mudroom and laundry room are part of this project by a designer the homeowners found on Houzz
The owners of this new home in Flower Mound, Texas, are a couple from the East Coast who built the home from afar. They looked to Houzz to find local interior design help. After admiring the work of Urbanology Designs, they contacted the firm’s principal designer, Ginger Curtis. In between their visits to Texas, the homeowners worked with the design firm long distance, and everything was move-in ready when they arrived.
The kitchen is the heart of this busy family’s home. Part of an open floor plan, the space continues the chic black, white and wood palette used throughout the rest of the house.
The kitchen is the heart of this busy family’s home. Part of an open floor plan, the space continues the chic black, white and wood palette used throughout the rest of the house.
“My clients are not big cooks, so they didn’t need all of the chef-y bells and whistles in here,” Curtis says. But they did want lots of cabinetry, with the cabinets closest to the ceiling able to house seldom-used items. For them, pulling out a ladder every now and then was preferable to storing things in the garage.
Along the back wall, a microwave and a wall oven are located to the left, and the range is in the center. The fridge is just out of view past the right side of the island. The most important element for the family is the large island (10 by 3½ feet), which serves as the busy family’s hub.
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Along the back wall, a microwave and a wall oven are located to the left, and the range is in the center. The fridge is just out of view past the right side of the island. The most important element for the family is the large island (10 by 3½ feet), which serves as the busy family’s hub.
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The island’s other functional elements include the sink, dishwasher and trash pullouts. When the couple are prepping or cleaning at the sink, they can keep an eye on their young son in the living room or interact with whoever is sitting at the island.
Well-edited black accents provide sharp contrast in the mostly white kitchen. The faucet is matte black, the pendants are black with brass on the inside, and the hardware is black. “Because we had such a large expanse of cabinets, I went minimalist with the pulls,” Curtis says. Larger pulls would have created too much distracting punctuation in the space.
Pendants: Cleo, Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort
Browse matte black kitchen faucets in the Houzz Shop
Well-edited black accents provide sharp contrast in the mostly white kitchen. The faucet is matte black, the pendants are black with brass on the inside, and the hardware is black. “Because we had such a large expanse of cabinets, I went minimalist with the pulls,” Curtis says. Larger pulls would have created too much distracting punctuation in the space.
Pendants: Cleo, Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort
Browse matte black kitchen faucets in the Houzz Shop
Curtis gently nudged her clients out of their backsplash comfort zone. One of the homeowners wanted regular subway tile, “but I talked her into a more modern elongated version,” she says. “And it is slightly tumbled, which catches the light and creates beautiful shadows.”
The countertops are a durable white quartz with subtle marble-like veining. Clean edges add a modern note. Like the minimalist hardware, the countertop choice helps keep the focus on the island and pendants.
The opening to the right of the fridge leads to the butler’s pantry.
The opening to the right of the fridge leads to the butler’s pantry.
Curtis set up the butler’s pantry to make prepping snacks, opening bottles of wine and serving guests easy. A large walk-in food pantry is located across from the counter seen here. “The location of this counter makes it easy for them to pull out snacks for their son and get them ready right here,” she says.
The color palette for the butler’s pantry is the same as the kitchen’s but reversed — mostly black with white accents. The wall sconces are from the same collection as the kitchen pendants. These two design decisions make the two distinct spaces cohesive.
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The color palette for the butler’s pantry is the same as the kitchen’s but reversed — mostly black with white accents. The wall sconces are from the same collection as the kitchen pendants. These two design decisions make the two distinct spaces cohesive.
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“Art Deco style has been coming back, and we nodded to the style in here with the arches in the upper cabinets,” Curtis says. These cabinets are set up for room temperature wine storage, while the wine cooler below offers chilled storage.
Sconces: Cleo, Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort
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Sconces: Cleo, Kelly Wearstler for Visual Comfort
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This console table just off the kitchen also nods to Art Deco style, and the mirror echoes the arches in the cabinetry.
Mudroom
An opening between the breakfast area and the rest of the kitchen leads to this mudroom and the laundry room. This is where the family usually enters the house. The paneled door leads to the garage, and French doors on the right lead to the driveway.
An opening between the breakfast area and the rest of the kitchen leads to this mudroom and the laundry room. This is where the family usually enters the house. The paneled door leads to the garage, and French doors on the right lead to the driveway.
To keep the kitchen and butler’s pantry countertops free of devices and cords, Curtis designed the white oak wall-mounted unit seen here to hold keys, sunglasses, phones, iPads and laptops; it has an outlet inside. The bench seat is made of the same wood, another warm contrast to the black and white.
The bench provides a place for kicking off shoes and stashing them. Hooks above keep bags, scarves, dog leashes and jackets organized.
The bench provides a place for kicking off shoes and stashing them. Hooks above keep bags, scarves, dog leashes and jackets organized.
Curtis also elevated the utilitarian room’s overall style, making the task of doing laundry more pleasant. The digitally printed floors have a linen-like pattern, the custom cabinet doors are ridged, and brass accents and an oversize light fixture make the space feel special. “The fact that the light is oversized is unexpected,” she says.
A counter atop the machines provides a space for folding. The counter across from it is a good spot for crafting. Curtis provided storage space for items like wrapping paper, tape, mailing supplies and crafting items in the cabinets.
A concrete utility sink adds some contrast to all of the white and picks up the gray marble-like veins in the quartz counter. A custom brass rod provides space for air-drying clothes.
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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 and their young son
Location: Flower Mound, Texas
Size: 480 square feet (44.6 square meters)
Designer: Ginger Curtis of Urbanology Designs
The homeowners dipped their toes into the design process by signing up for Urbanology Designs’ walk-through service. This abbreviated design package included walking through the house with the designers, who shared advice, ideas and suggestions; shopping with the designers, who recommended selections; and getting a design guidebook of sources and tips.
By the time the couple were ready to make choices for their living room, kitchen, butler’s pantry, mudroom and laundry room, the designers had earned their trust, so they signed up for full design services. Curtis had gotten to know the homeowners well through the walk-through service, so she knew how they wanted the home to function and understood their preference for transitional style with some edgier choices.
The kitchen is off the living space, part of an open floor plan. “My East Coast clients were ready to embrace the ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ mentality,” Curtis says. Accordingly, she scaled things appropriately for the large, open space and designed the areas within it to work together. She started with a black-and-white base, then wove in organic textures for warmth and interest. The 6-inch-wide white oak plank flooring is one of those warming elements.
Curtis chose artful light fixtures that work well together throughout the open space. “These clients had transitional style. And sometimes it’s our job to give them a little nudge out of their comfort zone to give them something they will love,” she says. “One of the best ways to do this is with the light fixtures.” She characterizes the style of the lighting choices as modern glam. A large sculptural black-and-brass chandelier brings the two-story ceiling in the living room down to human scale. An abstract branch-like chandelier with milk glass globes marks the kitchen’s breakfast area, seen at the back left of the photo. Black-and-brass conical pendants over the island draw the eye.
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