Potomac, MD

The client was satisfied with the existing layout of the kitchen but it had been over 20 years since their last renovation. Although the cabinets are contemporary, the style had many dated elements and the hardware on the cabinets were beginning to fail. The pantry was built in with a standard door and a soffit above it which felt out of place and clunky. The island had curved cabinets on the corners, a look that was popular at the time but now was a stand out for how dated the design had become. The planning desk area wasn’t needed anymore and was quite cluttered mainly because of the pigeon hole wine cabinet but also because it really served no purpose other than a landing space for “stuff”.

The first thing that was proposed was to remove the pantry and replace it with one created with matching cabinet doors. These doors still opened up to a walk in pantry but were disguised as a pantry cabinet by attaching the toe kicks to the back of the doors. It was sized down a bit so that the refrigerator could be moved over and placed next to the tall pantry doors. Since a filler was needed on the left side, we decided to use a thick flyover shelf that turned at a 90 degree angle down the wall next to the pantry. We liked the geometrical element created by the flyover “rectangle” juxtaposed to the 45 degree angle of the ceiling.

Lighting was added above the flyover shelf to add dimension and to highlight the angled ceiling. The wall cabinet doors are all equal which creates a soothing rhythm. We added an upright element attached to the flyover shelf but reduced the depth to line up with the wall cabinets. This mirrored the same detail on the oven side where the flyover shelf continued down to be flush with the oven cabinet.

We cleaned up the oven wall by simplifying the design, getting rid of the wine storage and desk drawer. In lieu of the wine storage, we added an additional pantry for every day storage and by placing it next to the ovens, these cabinets mirrored the refrigerator/walk in pantry wall by making each side in the same proportion. The wall cabinets were raised up on this side to allow head room since this space was still going to be used for a planning/computer station. By adding a bi-fold cabinet on the counter, this allowed for the space to also be used to store small countertop appliances.

We simplified the island by squaring it off and enveloping it in a waterfall countertop. The counters are quartzite with a soft beige veining whose colors bring together the bleached European white oak base/tall /flyovers and the white high gloss laminate wall cabinet doors. The end result is a composition which created a calm yet functional space that no longer competes with the cathedral ceiling.

Designed by #JGKB. Photography by John Cole.

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