Kitchen of the Week: Artistic Flair in the Wine Country

Eric and Thorjia Vaughn keep a bountiful garden in their Santa Rosa, California, backyard and enjoy pulling from it to cook fresh meals for themselves and their 4-year-old daughter. But they found it difficult to cook and entertain in their existing 100-square-foot galley-style kitchen.

Enter designer Lauren Brandwein, who could see that the couple not only needed more space but better appliances and a fresh look. “The kitchen wasn’t awful, but it was tiny, and with Thorjia being an artist, it had none of her creative sensibilities,” says Brandwein. The solution was to switch the kitchen’s location with the adjacent 300-square-foot dining room so the family could have room for a multifunctional center island and lots of surfaces for prep work, as well as more natural light and a design that reflected their artistic style.

Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Eric and Thorjia Vaughn and their 4-year-old daughter, Linnea
Location: Santa Rosa, California
Size: About 300 square feet (28 square meters)

BEFORE: This photo shows the space that had been the dining room. The galley kitchen that suffered from a lack of light is to the right.


“After” photos by Sonoma Real Estate Photography

AFTER: Brandwein removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room and switched the two spaces. This allowed the Vaughns to take advantage of the existing skylight, windows and sliding glass door that once sat in the dining room. The arrangement of the work triangle hinged on creating the most countertop space possible. Brandwein removed a window on the former dining room wall so she could place the kitchen range there and keep the larger island countertop.

Cabinets above the refrigerator store serving trays and libations that aren’t used every day, while the pantry cabinets with pullouts on the side of the refrigerator hold dry goods, like pasta, cereal and baking mixes.

The existing oak wood floor was refinished and brightened to contrast the rich black walnut cabinets and drawers.

Sink: double bowl in stainless steel, Elkay Sinks and Faucets; faucet: Hansgrohe



The impressive 10-foot-long center island serves as the kitchen’s social hub. “I love that it’s big and we can fit a lot of people there,” Thorjia says.

In addition to the double-bowl stainless steel sink, the island contains a stainless steel dishwasher, a pullout trash center and space for a future microwave. The Silestone countertop gives the couple lots of prep space and offers a spot for groceries when they come in from the garage entrance, seen to the right of the refrigerator.

Translucent yellow-green, white and opalescent glass tiles used with a white grout make the gleaming backsplash one of the stars in the room. Brandwein says it was a splurge used in a limited way, and good installation was key. “You need a qualified, custom installer who knows what they’re doing to make sure the transitional areas are done correctly,” she says.

Pendants above island: Moravian Star, Circa Lighting; island stools: Crate & Barrel; wine storage unit: KitchenAid

Contractor Tips: Countertop Installation From Start to Finish


The powerful six-burner range with a convection oven and simple silhouette hood is where Eric makes marinara sauce from scratch and Thorjia experiments with making jams and jellies using fruits and vegetables from their garden.

A pantry cabinet with glass door fronts near the sliding glass door has a blue-green painted frame that creates a jewel-box effect and offers a nice contrast against the lighter green walls. “It’s just a beautiful, springy color that feels like a garden,” Brandwein says.

A glass-front wine storage unit beneath the window (seen better in the second and third photos) was a no-brainer: Eric works in the wine industry, and the family is surrounded by wineries.

Glass tiles: Artistic Tile; wall paint: Fiddlehead Fern, Kelly-Moore Paints; upper cabinet and window frame paint: Waterbury Green, Benjamin Moore; refrigerator, range: KitchenAid; hood: Zephyr



The materials have been selected to work together while offering contrast. “It’s really a study of color and bridging,” says Brandwein.


Floating black walnut shelves offer storage for jars of dry goods, dishes and mugs. “In a chef’s kitchen, it’s a much more dynamic design to have everything open and accessible,” Brandwein says. “I also felt we needed more texture on the walls. And for this special corner, we could also display Thorjia’s art on the shelf in a subtle way.”


This photo shows the back side of the island and the now-open dining room adjacent to the kitchen. The walls of the dining room were painted a charcoal color that provides contrast and offers a dramatic background for Thorjia’s art.

Dining room wall paint: Kendall Charcoal, Benjamin Moore


These floor plans illustrate the user-friendly layout of the room and the significant size of the island, and how it serves as the command center of the L-shaped layout. Now Thorjia and Eric have a stylish kitchen that is family friendly and perfect for entertaining.

Designer: Lauren Brandwein
General contractor: Dave Martineau, Martineau Construction

More:
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URL: Kitchen of the Week: Artistic Flair in the Wine Country http://www.decor-ideas.org/cases-view-id-25738.html