Reclaimed Cedar Kitchen - Two Prep Areas
This modern cabin features a kitchen with two food prep areas, and contains two sinks, two ovens, two refrigerators and two areas for food storage. The separate workspaces were created because of different dietary restrictions of home's residents.
Art-Influenced Kitchen
Design Notes: Debate all you want about whether art influences life or if life influences art. Just know this: Art definitely influenced this kitchen. The bright orange wall in the cooking area matches the orange in a painting on the other side of the room, and the rest of the home's interior design plays off of the homeowner's collection of abstract art. The base of the kitchen island is made from highly polished stainless steel, which gives it a reflective, mirror-like quality. The kitchen is one component of open-plan living area, and the entire space functions as a two-story great room. An ornate, antique black chandelier hanging above the nearby dining table provides a dramatic contrast to the kitchen's modern products and aesthetics. According to DuBois, the clients "were keen on having an uncluttered look with few appliances visible from their open plan living area." For that reason, white sliding doors hide the majority of the kitchen's appliances and storage space.
High-Style Office Kitchen
Design Notes: An office kitchen is not supposed to look this cool. But when San Francisco architect John Lum decided to revamp the second floor of his company's office-which used to be home to a laundry machine factory- a ho-hum kitchen wasn't going to cut it. The kitchen is a mix of industrial and natural materials: The island countertop is a 600-pound slab of marble that rests atop steel legs, and to the right and left are rows of 10-foot-tall cabinets with stained ash-veneer plywood doors. The body of the island is covered with a blackened-steel grille through which you can see the plumbing pipes connected to the sink and faucet. The gray wall is part of a steel-trowelled stucco cube that separates the kitchen and dining room from a pair of offices.
High-Style Office Kitchen - Dining and Living Room
Design Notes: This zoomed-out angle reveals more of this San Francisco loft space. The kitchens opens up to the dining room and living room areas.
Bold & Beautiful Introduction
Fortes fortuna adiuvat. In English that translates to "fortune favors the bold." In kitchens, bold design can lead to beautiful spaces. Whether a bold kitchen translates to monetary fortune is debatable, but a unique space designed to reflect your personal tastes can certainly enrich your life. With that in mind, we salute the following 17 bold and beautiful kitchens. Each has a look that doesn't conform to the norm; each has a style that befits the homeowners. We also added one fantasy kitchen that hasn't been built, but it comes from a bold design dream. So go forward and be inspired. Then start making plans for your own bold and beautiful kitchen.
2011 NKBA Award Winners Introduction
Epic View Kitchen
Design Notes: With unobstructed views of the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, it's hard to imagine the inhabitants of this kitchen ever concentrating on cooking. The room's sliding glass doors unveil a 32-foot-wide opening and a panoramic view to the outdoors. Beautiful planks of cedar wood line the kitchen's ceiling, and wood slabs from a fallen walnut tree make up the rustic, 18-foot-long island countertop. Red cabinets, made from low-formaldehyde MDF, give the space a splash of color. The entire residence is home to a family of eight and is set on a 20-acre plot of land in Aptos, Calif.
Grand Entrance Kitchen
Danenberg Design
Palo Alto, CA
Kitchen by Dan Danenberg; Styling by Lanny Danenberg
Design Notes: Initially, this kitchen remodel was supposed to be just a touch-up and not a complete makeover--not that the client has any complaints about the end result. The playful, attention-grabbing wall colors were inspired by an orange TurboChef oven that the homeowner wanted to include in her kitchen. As the entire room got a facelift, it went from a U-shaped kitchen to a multi-zone kitchen, including the two-tiered island with 9-foot-long glass bartop. High-gloss cherry cabinets by Irpinia Kitchens add some extra glam, but the real star of the room is the archway. The columns are covered in custom-cut slate tile and topped off by bright blue stucco arcs. It's the perfect grand entranceway for making grand entrances.
Baby Blue Kitchen
Dan Waibel Designer/BuilderPeoria, IL
Kitchen by Dan Waibel
Design Notes: When designer Dan Waibel needed inspiration to create this colorful kitchen, he didn't have to look any further than the homeowner. The young client had an energetic personality and wanted a kitchen with a similar persona, so a traditional motif was out of the question. The designer decided on a playful style highlighted by the baby blue colored base cabinets and overhead beam. A mosaic tile backsplash captures both the kitchen's blue hues as well the white color of the Caesarstone quartz countertops and custom cabinets. The U-shaped kitchen sports linear symmetry and clean lines, and the curvaceous Bombo bar stools provide a whimsical juxtaposition in the space.
Period Piece Kitchen
Design Notes: Subtract the modern appliances from this Pennsylvania kitchen and it would look like it belongs in the early 1900s. Of course, the family of four that lives here were not about to sacrifice modern amenities, but they still wanted a space with vintage style to match their early 20th century home. Designer Kevin Ritter and his father Bryce constructed the cabinetry using reclaimed lumber, antique glass and hand-wrought hardware. The island countertop is made from the floor of an old Pennsylvania barn, and the rest of the kitchen's countertops are made from concrete. And while the range is modern, the homeowners chose it from Aga's Legacy Series, which is designed to look like vintage stoves.