We examine one of the most vital elements of any kitchen and reveal the variety of looks achieved by today’s top designers.
“They wanted a Shingle Style beach house with uncomplicated interiors,” Karin Blake says of the residence she designed for Greg and Teresa Nathanson in Malibu, California. In the kitchen, Blake created “barnlike cabinet doors using strap hinges and rat-tail pulls,” she says. They are copies of ones she salvaged from a barn owned by the late actor George Montgomery. A circa 1890 cast-iron windmill weight is on the counter. The range and custom hood are from Wolf. Refrigerator, Sub-Zero. (January 2008)
“It’s like a modern yacht—we had to think of how to get the maximum amount of space out of a minimum amount of floor area,” architect Robert A. M. Stern says of the three-story beach cottage he designed for Robert and Lisa Nesbitt in Seaside, Florida. In the kitchen, pocket doors open to views of the town. Ann Sacks backsplash tiles. Urban Archaeology ceiling light. Conrad Roman shades. Wolf range. (April 2008)
Christopher Meloni, lead actor in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, lives with his wife, Sherman, and their two children in a Manhattan highrise. “My strongest opinion came with the woods—and rearranging the kitchen,” Christopher Meloni says. Surfaces in the kitchen—stainless steel, sapele and cherrywood, a blue glass wall—create “an elegant jewel-box effect,” says Sherman Meloni. Sub-Zero refrigerator. (March 2008)
“The owners asked us to build a place that was not dependent on art but in which the architecture itself was art,” architect Gisue Hariri, of Hariri & Hariri, says of the Park Avenue apartment she designed with her sister Mojgan. In the kitchen, a marble work surface doubles as a dining area. Dennis Miller stools. Poliform cabinets. Thermador ovens. (October 2007)
Architect Bernard Wharton built a family retreat in Rhode Island overlooking Narragansett Bay. “The open and airy kitchen has a wonderful sense of verticality,” he reports. The brass teakettle is from the 18th century. Viking hood and range. (September 2007)
For Deni and Jeff Jacobs’s La Jolla, California, beach house—just 15 minutes from their main residence—interior designer Helene Ziman and architect Bill Hayer created a serene, contemporary sanctuary inspired by Southeast Asia. “You just kind of decompress when you walk in,” Deni Jacobs says. Above: Rich blue-green-granite countertops and koawood cabinetry distinguish the open-plan kitchen. “Most of the colors I used were earth and sea shades.” Range from Viking; refrigerator from Sub-Zero. Elkay sinks. (July 2007)
Working closely with his client, designer Harry Schnaper created a retreat in Connecticut filled with strong colors and bold antiques. Above: A work by LeRoy Neiman, Flag/Eagle, hangs on a wall in the kitchen—Schnaper’s client is an avid collector of Americana. Chandelier from David Duncan Antiques. Kohler sink. Faucets, Waterworks. Bosch dishwashers. Rogers & Goffigon Romanshade fabrics. Stark runner. (July 2007)
With his clients’ collection of Asian art in mind, California-based designer Ron Mann refurbished a modern penthouse in London overlooking the Thames. In the kitchen, black-granite countertops contrast with lower cabinets surfaced in solid cherry. Appliances from Gaggenau. Cabinetry, Bulthaup. (May 2007)
“They wanted a hybrid architecture that would give them warmth without the clutter,” architect Richard Landry says of Peter and Erin Bartlett’s Palos Verdes Estates, California, house. The contemporary kitchen is accented with anegre cabinets. Sub-Zero refrigerators and freezer. Great Plains leather on Christian Liaigre chairs and stools from Holly Hunt. (July 2006)
On a wooded ridge in Napa Valley is a house by San Francisco architect Jim Jennings. Bubinga wood and African granite were used in the kitchen. The bar chairs are by Harry Bertoia. (May 2005)
A Tribeca penthouse’s dramatic spaces and stylish, streamlined look evolved out of a couple’s collaboration with designers Stephen Sills and James Huniford and architect Robert Kahn. Bead-board cabinetry adds “warmth and texture” to the kitchen, which is “clean and sleek,” observes Huniford. The bleached table, originally a glossy black, was formerly the wife’s writing desk. “We reused beautiful or loved things the couple already owned.” (April 2007)
Mariette Himes Gomez created the interiors of a Robert A.M. Stern-designed Southampton, New York, home. “Equipment and wares are meant to be seen and to provide the ambience of a cook’s kitchen,” says Stern. Sub-Zero refrigerator. Thermador ovens; Viking cooktop. Chicago faucets and Waterworks sink in foreground. KitchenAid microwave. (March 2005)
