Photographer: Steve Hershberger
The far corner of the new island is clipped to run parallel to the angled wall and establishes unobstructed circulation in the octagonal, asymmetrical kitchen.
Photographer: Steve Hershberger
“The client has a bold taste and leans toward contrasting colors,” said Kristen Mendoza, project designer for Washington, D.C.-based Four Brothers Design + Build. “We went with a deep plum cabinet color paired with a soft white, a super-fun, high-contrast Carrara marble counter and mixed metal finishes.”
Photographer: Steve Hershberger
The old kitchen did not have much storage or cabinetry. There was a pantry closet with bifold doors, and the storage cabinets were limited to the small cabinet above the refrigerator, one base cabinet with drawers and the unit that was home to the cooktop. The new design called for the former pantry to be absorbed into a wall of built-in appliances, which are interspersed with a variety of cabinet configurations.
Photographer: Steve Hershberger
On what was originally a blank wall, the Four Brothers team created a floor-to-ceiling array of cabinets. This extends the kitchen visually and exponentially expands the storage capacity of the room. Finishing the exposed end of the unit with a diagonal panel ties it into the geometry of the room. After analyzing the asymmetrical kitchen’s footprint, the designer decided it would be beneficial to angle the cabinetry in accord with the space. “Usually, angles in the island and cabinets would date the kitchen,” said Mendoza. “But in this case, it felt more natural to do that instead of competing with the existing architecture.”
Photographer: Steve Hershberger
The layout of the existing kitchen ignored the unusual configuration of the room. A peninsula crammed with appliances jutted into the space, and wall ovens were set at an unworkable angle. Useable counterspace was in short supply.