When Kristen Kaylor and her family moved into their new house off Rio Road last November, they didn’t get to make too many choices. The home was a spec house built by Bramante Homes, and much of the kitchen design had already been completed by Amy Hart of Albemarle Cabinet Co.
Fortunately, Hart had been careful to design for broad appeal—but, she says, “not too vanilla.” In trying to create a kitchen that had some identity beyond builder standards, she looked for subtle but characterful variations on the kitchen status quo.
“Changing the colors up was risky,” she says. Whereas most of the Wellborn Shaker-style cabinets are in Glacier white, the central island stands apart in Dove gray. This restful hue echoes the wall color and repeats in the cabinetry in the adjacent butler’s pantry.
The kitchen’s layout is essentially symmetrical, with the sink in the island, and the cooktop anchoring the center of the wall of cabinetry. “I wanted to flank the stove with tall items,” says Hart: On either end of the cabinets are deeper, full-height cupboards with shelves for storing platters and other large items. One of these also houses a Bosch convection microwave—stainless steel, like the other appliances.
A Bosch convection cooktop makes for easy cleanup and, says Kaylor, can boil a large pot of water in less than two minutes. Like the recessed LED lighting, the cooktop increases the house’s energy efficiency. The chimney-style vent hood above is a contemporary touch in a mostly traditional home, as are the industrial pendant lights, from Shades of Light, above the island.
Hart chose granite countertops in a leathered finish, which Kaylor says tends to stay cleaner-looking than polished granite—especially with a 2-year-old in the house. In fact, she says, the entire room is family-friendly: Spaces are big enough that her son can maneuver around the island with his Kitchen Helper (a wide elevated platform that gives kids a better view of kitchen goings-on).
Wood floors warm up the space, which flows into a small eat-in dining area and the living room. Room for three or four barstools along the island will make a great homework and snack spot in future years. The open plan allows for family togetherness, and having the sink in the island keeps the dish-doer connected to what’s happening in the living room. “It also allows more space to do dishes,” says Kaylor.
The Kaylors did choose the white backsplash tile, a classic subway pattern; pewter-colored grout provides contrast and matches the walls. Cabinet hardware, chosen by Hart, is also pewter finish; this, says Hart, went with the stainless steel appliances but wasn’t “ordinary,” as once-novel brushed nickel has become.
The butler’s pantry is an especially nice touch here. Its cabinets are all glass-front, allowing the Kaylors to show off their china, and they extend to the ceiling because, as Hart says, they would otherwise emphasize the smallness of the pantry. Extra counter space here serves as a coffee bar and staging area for the adjacent formal dining room.
The Kaylors are still learning their new kitchen, filling copious storage and getting used to little conveniences (like the pull-out drawer for trash, located right below their favored spot for food prep). In designing, says Hart, “Our goal was a neutral background for someone to put their personal stamp on.”