Washington, DC

This kitchen is located in a condo.  It's long and narrow, so, we had to find a way to counteract this feeling in the space.  We decided to put the pantry, oven cabinet and the refrigerator all together and to cover them in white gloss laminate.  They were placed at the entrance of the kitchen, which is the narrowest part of the room.  By lumping them together in this location and making them white, it visually opened up that narrow entry even though these units are all 24" deep.  The elimination of the 24" large and deep units in the wider part of the kitchen made the area to feel even more spacious.  In an effort to open the kitchen even more, we used a variety of floating shelves, flyover shelves and wall cabinets and flush inset hardware.  We decided not to have any cabinets over the sink for this same reason, to open up the space.  The client didn't need to maximize storage and liked the idea of saving space for artwork.  With no window over the sink, the artwork on the green glass tiles gives the impression of a window with a view.  

We decided to add the darker cabinets to add warmth, but, to also create drama with the stark contrast.  These cabinets have a horizontal grain which helps to move the viewer's eye around the room.  The white countertop on the white base cabinets help to lighten up the kitchen even though we used darker cabinets in much of the space.  The client needed a place for her countertop appliances, but, we ran out of room on the sink/cook top wall, so, we decided to put cabinets under the window.  This window was a bit too low to run the counter at the standard kitchen level, so, we decided to lower it, and, make the countertop out of a dark wood, which adds punch and which connects with the dark cabinets.  This was actually a good problem because it created a natural accent while creating a 32" counter height that's actually better for baking tasks.  

The balance of white with wood was very important to consider while deciding what finishes went where.  The way that we put this kitchen together attains that balance very well.  If two colors are not coordinated well (in any room), the end result may not be one that looks or feels good.  

Finally, we added a contemporary version of a hutch and added glass with a splash of color on the counter.  This hutch will serve as a "message center" and by bringing the sides down to the countertop; the client won't have to see any papers or other items that may accumulate on the counter while sitting at the dining room table.  

We used a semi-custom cabinet which fit into the client's budget and were able to attain a totally custom look.

Designed by #JGKB. Photography by Bob Narod.

‍