A Navy Kitchen Reveal

{Navy perimeter cabinets with a warm walnut island and a mix of metals, white Silestone countertops with a soapstone island.  Cookbooks are stored in the right side of the island (with a vintage towel bar) and the microwave is hidden on the left side of the island.  BTW- The ovens are not shown but are on the right side of this elevation. }

It makes me incredibly happy to see kitchens in action and I love seeing them truly being used, counters covered in ingredients and sippy cups, and my client CAN COOK.  (Oh my GOSH can she cook!  I’ve had to go home with the recipe of every meal she’s made. )

She wanted a combination of open and closed storage beside the cooktop so we did cabinets with shelves below.  I love that they’ve got a spot for the less attractive necessities and open space for things they want to get to quickly.

The kitchen was one of the first spaces I designed and it helped established a palette of navy, brass and wood for the entire house:

A beverage station with wine fridge and coffee bar sees daily use:  (but probably not in that order 😉

{I often think of the door & door hardware as a microcosm for what’s going on in the rest of the house and this one is the perfect example of that.}

We picked the navy for the house right from the Lauren Liess Textiles’ “Mothwing” curtains.  (below) A custom table by Lorimer Studios with modern black windsor chairs and a faux leather banquette make for a cozy kitchen dining area:

I’ve written about it before, but I believe having a well-designed home straight up leads to a different kind of life… an easier, simpler, more organized life.  When you can really get into the nitty gritty of a house and thoughtfully think through the design of every single space and how it can work best for you, there’s a relaxed satisfaction that comes out of living there, of things working so well.  There’s a common misconception that decorators/designers are all about making things “pretty” and that they don’t think much about “function” but there’s no way to create something truly special and livable without major attention habits, function and flow. (In the beginning of my career I probably had to convince approximately 65% of the husbands of this, and that in fact, I did know about “function” and comfort 😉

We’ve been lucky enough to develop friendships with many of our clients, and whenever I visit these particular clients, I’m so happy to see how they live in their house.  Their pantry is so beautifully organized and something good is always cooking in the kitchen and there’s always the best little splash of toys in use around.  The house just feels truly used and loved and they seem happy there, and to me, that’s what this is all about and why we do what we do.

Here’s one last shot of the overall kitchen:

On another note, thank you so much to everyone who submitted their homes to be on the TV show!!  I haven’t actually seen any of the submissions and won’t be the one selecting (the production company/ network will) but I’ve heard that they received a lot of really amazing projects and I’m so excited to see who we’ll be working with!!  I’ll keep you posted!!

*photos by Helen Norman