Kitchen Envy

The brief

Kitchen Envy began with a full gut. The homeowners or a historic Cincinnati home wanted a working kitchen with the presence of a public room. They asked for cabinetry that could carry the rest of the house with it, appliances built for how they actually cook, and surfaces that would patina the right way over thirty years. The original kitchen came down to the studs.

The defining move

A run of custom Amish cabinetry, paneled with the same care as the room's millwork, conceals the Sub-Zero refrigeration wall. Walnut interiors warm every cabinet from the inside. Across the room, a Lacanche range anchors a blue cooking wall under a custom metal hood wrapped in brass strapping. The kitchen reads as two registers held together by a black-and-white checkered floor.

Material palette

Calacatta Borghini in a matte finish runs the counters, the backsplash, and the island. The matte takes the gloss off the stone, softer in low light, easier to live with than polished marble. Brass fittings, brass sconces, brass strapping on the hood. A scullery off the kitchen carries the working life of the room: open shelving for everyday dishes, a paneled cabinet that swings open when the kitchen is staging a meal.

The work

Full kitchen renovation. Drawings, cabinet detailing, finish selections, appliance selection and configuration, plumbing, lighting, countertops. Nothing in the original room survived.