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CHICAGO HOME & GARDEN
URBAN RUSTICITY
CALL IT A STYLE EVOLUTION.
By Lisa Sloan
March/April 2006
When these homeowners, an Emmy Award-nominated screen-writer and her lawyer husband, set about designing the kitchen in their newly built Lakeview home a year and a half ago, they didn't have a particular look in mind, just a collection of ideas based on materials they liked and amenities they needed. The result is a warm and open space evocative of a Napa Valley estate or an Aspen timber lodge.
"There were three things we knew we wanted: a copper range hood, a pizza oven and exposed beams," says the homeowner. While inspired by their travels and a book on timber frame homes, they knew they would have to adapt the style to suit their Midwestern surroundings. "We wanted to create a similar look in the city, without being silly," she says.
Driving the entire design, however, was the desire to create a space where the homeowner's husband, a gourmet cook, could indulge his passion without being cut off from family life. Their former kitchen was about a third of the size and featured white laminate cabinets in a U-shaped configuration. Though serviceable, the room had a dearth of seating.
The new kitchen, with its oval island and expansive table, is great for gathering with friends and family, something they enjoy often. The couple's three children often perch on the island's three bar stools to cook along with their Dad. "They line up there, each with their own bowl and spatula, and mix away," says the homeowner.
The adjoining great room, opposite the cooktop area, is equipped with a roomy L-shaped couch and 50-inch plasma screen television, so even if the family is hanging out in there, the cook can still be part of the action.
Because the homeowner's husband's family is in the restaurant business, on some occasion, there's a large group taking part in the meal preparation, hence the need for a kitchen layout that allows several cooks to work without bumping into one another. "This blows the traditional triangle out the window," says architect Ed Twohey, AIA, of Burns + Beyerl Architects, who was involved with the project from the beginning. Ed found that breaking the space into separate work zones, including two sink areas and a baking/pastry center, seemed to best fit the family's needs.
"The kitchen has a very high ceiling, made possible because the master suite, located directly above it, is one level up from the rest of the bedrooms. This allowed the couple to incorporate the timber frame look they loved in the form of pine trusses - some structural and others purely decorative.
The homeowner took an active role in designing the kitchen, selecting the marble tiles for the backsplash and creating the tile pattern, collaborating with Ed on the copper range hood design, and selecting the iron hardware. She also took a measuring tape to every appliance and piece of cookware to aid in planning drawer depth and cabinet size.
This attention to detail paid off - each and every custom-built cabinet is perfectly suited to their needs, from the three-inch-deep spice racks on either side of the cooktop to the appliance garages atop the baking counter.
To help refine the design and select the cabinetry, Ed brought in Dave Karlson, CKD, of Karlson Kitchens. The couple decided on cabinetry in premium alder wood, made with knot-free pieces for a more contemporary look. The homeowner's brother, who has since become a kitchen designer, served as her sounding board throughout the project and was the first to recommend alder as an alternative to the perennially popular cherry.
"Alder is unique in appearance and pretty," notes David. "While it does not have a lot of grain, like an oak or cherry, you can still see the grain, which we enhanced with a light-toned reddish-brown stain."
The custom doors were made extra thick to accommodate a waterfall edge detail in the center panel. The door style brought together the divergent tastes of the homeowner and her husband. "While I like Shaker simplicity, my husband wanted more detail, so we added the waterfall design," she explains. "That satisfied his need for bells and whistles, but kept it simple enough for me."
In addition to the pine beams and alder cabinetry, a third wood joins the mix - handscraped hickory pecan floors that contribute to the room's rustic appeal. The room also features several different metals, including the copper range hood, brushed nickel faucets, stainless steel appliances, a chrome pot filler, and iron drawer pulls. "At first, I was not sure about the mixing of the metals," recalls the homeowner. "But it works fine, I think, because it's such a working kitchen, with pots out above the range, an open wine rack, and visible dishes. It doesn't seem to need that uniformity.
The home, situated on a corner lot, is light and bright thanks to an abundance of windows, which, in the case of the kitchen, are unfettered by draperies. "The site gave us the ability to incorporate a great deal of natural light, which is unique in a city residence," Ed notes. That natural light is augmented with a pair of pendant fixtures and a ring-shaped chandelier by Kevin Rieilly, featuring candles that fit over incandescent bulbs. Task lighting includes recessed ceiling fixtures and undercabinet lights.
Both Ed and the homeowner say the pizza oven was the biggest design challenge because of the related building requirements. The oven's solid masonry base, essential for producing enough thermal mass for cooking, required a 16-inch-thick layered concrete and sand base, supported by a steel frame installed in the basement.
Its size - about four-and-a-half feet by four-and-a-half feet - was also an issue. "From a kitchen-planning standpoint, that's a very large object," observes Ed. "But it anchors and provides a nice edge to the southern end of the kitchen."
It help that the oven is located at one end of the lowered marble counter that denotes the baking/pastry prep area. At the opposite end, a five-foot by five-foot open bookshelf balances things out.
All involved are pleased with the finished space. "This is a well-designed, well-accessorized kitchen," says David. "(The homeowners) took their time and made thoughtful decisions to keep it unique."
The homeowner couldn't agree more, saying, "I could stay in here forever and not use any other part of the house."
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