A KITCHEN AS ART GALLERY
As we toured their view home, the owners said, “It’s easier to tell you what we ‘hate’ about our kitchen than to give you a wish list!” 
- The washed-out oak cabinets
- Congestion around the refrigerator and ovens
- Blocked access. “… going around this peninsula to get to our nook or pantry.” 
- Blocked views. “This column is always between you and whatever is happening in our family room.” “Large bars” in the kitchen window “imprison” the rest of the view. I noted that the kitchen/dining room wall blocked the view north.

That said, “we would love to have two cooking stations and to chat with our children, both during after-school snacks and homework time. We also host large gatherings, up to 150, several times a year.” Their love of dramatic contrast was evident in the colors, patterns and textures of both their art collection and furnishings.
B4-1
 B4-2
As Landon overlaid view corridors and traffic pathways onto their as-built floor plan, we resolved natural ways to connect both spaces and views, including cutting a pass-thru opening into the dining room. Along those pathways, countertops settled in, then work stations. A new kitchen window with a large center section would “release” the view.

Art glass plates: Susan Temple. Bridger Glass Studio.
To give the kitchen its own internal sweeping views and connect it to the art-filled rooms around it, a wrap-around, floating shelf displays a collection of art glass plates. That same shelf contains twin, custom-made, pull-out extraction units that disappear when not in use. To replace wall cabinets, base cabinets drawers are 3” to 6” deeper, front to back, than standard. This adds the equivalent of several shelves of wall cabinets above each lineal foot of base cabinets. The backsplashes are hand-cast glass by Rebecca Bergsma. 

Main view of kitchen, showing African ribbon mahogany cabinets with caramelized bamboo panels.
A hand-cast glass countertop rests above the canarywood desktop. 

The pass-thru is visible in the photograph above. 
The photograph below is taken from the dining room side of it.
To the left, you can see the custom-made extraction unit in its "at rest" position.

Close up of main sink, showing concrete countertops 
with inlays of amber glass and the Franke "Vision" sink 
To accommodate “volume” issues, i.e., the varying numbers of people in their home, a “working pantry” helps distribute cooking, clean up, and refrigeration. (Sub-Zero drawers, Wolf induction and gas cooktops, Miele dishwasher in the main kitchen; Thermador “Freedom” refrigerator/freezer units, Wolf double ovens, Sharp microwave, plus, a second integrated Miele dishwasher, and a trash compactor in the pantry.)

In the pantry, the orbital finish of the stainless steel countertops maintains easily. Extra-deep, arched-top pullouts and Rakks aluminum shelves handle storage. Full-tiled walls emphasize the “working” aspect of this room.
 
    Pantry Left                                                   Pantry Right

Close up of pantry sink, showing orbital finish on the stainless steel
and Arwa "Quadriga" faucet.

The arc of the canarywood countertop invites you to sit down and enjoy! It provides both visual and tactile warmth, especially when your elbows rest on it. Art glass fragments and corrugated steel fasteners impregnate the concrete counters.

  Close up of canary wood and concrete countertops shows insets of glass in the concrete. Close up of wine bar sink shows the hand-beaten copper sink installed under a hand-cast glass counter with flamed copper below to give it color. 
The unique faucet is by Arwa.

The desk presents itself in the “center” between the kitchen and working pantry and reconciles the post. 
We combined elements from both zones and, like the “fade out” at the end of a song,
we used this piece to do the same, as the “song” of the family room begins to be heard. 

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