Who would have thought to design a Henri Rousseau-inspired kitchen or to wallpaper the kitchen ceiling?
By Shawn Williams
GRAY magazine turns 10 this year, in celebration of our birthday, I thought we’d take a look through the archives at some of the thousands of incredibly designed projects we’ve featured. Today we resurface the 10 most memorable kitchens.
Top Form
Featured in GRAY No. 7
Photographed by Lincoln Barbour
This pied-à-terre in Portland was designed by Holly Freres of JHL Design with the exclusive use of concrete, stainless steel, glossy white walls, and black metal details.
The whole project is stunning, but what set it apart for me is the kitchen island. Hewn from one immense stone rising out of the floor, the 15-foot-long polished concrete island was poured in place and stands as the literal and visual root of the kitchen. See the whole story here.
Domestic Kinetics
Featured in GRAY No. 15
Photographed by Bruce Wolf
The kitchen in Skylab Architecture’s Skyline Residence always makes me think of the impossible cube and I get a kick out of it being a central figure inside this home. The canopy was built by Ghilarducci Studios. See the whole story here.
Disappearing Act
Featured in GRAY No. 16
Photographed by James Dow / Patkau Architects
This home designed by Patkau Architects is all about fitting unobtrusively into the landscape on Quadra Island off the coast of British Columbia. For the kitchen, the design team fancied a Henri Rousseau-esque vibe. Between the window box breakfast nook jetting out into the trees, and the vertical garden installed by Green Over Grey, I think Le Douanier would have been inspired. See the whole story here.
Dark Star
Featured in GRAY No. 23
Photographed by David Papazian
When I first walked into this kitchen, I was surprised by it’s grandeur and immediately taken with it’s Old World charm. Designer Christopher Gelber clad this kitchen in Pavonazzetto marble and Francois Pascal coated the walls in hand-troweled plaster. A William Lemos painting in a prep-sink nook counterbalances the austerity. See the whole story here.
Second Time Around
Featured in GRAY No. 24
Photographed by Alex Hayden
The walnut island with brass-hued detail is the showstopper in this renovated Seattle kitchen by Janof Architecture. The cabinetry, built in the style of the home’s original casework, tall backsplashes of Calacatta marble, and farmhouse sink make this a cozy, family kitchen. See the whole story here.
Good Neighbors
Featured in GRAY No. 29
Photographed by Alex Hayden
Architect George Suyama’s second home (located next door to his primary residence) features a small open kitchen. On one side of the white box that the kitchen is nested in, is a hallway that runs from back to front, and on the other side of the box, is a 2-foot-wide open slot that does the same. When you stand in the kitchen and peer down the length of custom folded steel shelving, you can see past the bathroom sink to the bedroom windows 30 feet away. The slot “allows the house to breath from one end to the other and gives you the feeling that the building is one simple shape,” notes Suyama. See the whole story here.
Northern Exposure
Featured in GRAY No. 32
Photographed by Kevin Scott
Designed by architect Peter Brunner, this kitchen is in a prefab, off-the-grid vacation home on Nelson Island in British Columbia. It features whitewashed plain sliced Douglas fir, exposed ceilings, and conduit lighting. “This project demonstrates that you can do something very refined with prefab. The way to do it is not to hide your method but to show it,” says Brunner. See the whole story here.
Out With the Old
Featured in GRAY No. 33
Photographed by Jeremy Bittermann
In this remodel of a 1930’s home, designer Jessica Helgerson created a vintage farmhouse kitchen. I honestly can’t decide what I love most about this space, whether it's the narrow island, the extended depth countertops, marble-tiled walls, leaded-glass cabinets, or that they kept the original fireplace from what was once the den. See the whole story here.
Double Vision
Featured in GRAY No. 35
Photographed by Alex Hayden
Bradley Barnett and Rachael Lewis designed this kitchen in rich gray, black, and bronze. On the ceiling, wallpaper in a trompe l’oeil lattice pattern aligns with the room’s natural shadows. See the whole story here.
View From the Top
Featured in GRAY No. 38
Photographed by Amanda Oster
This kitchen is all opulence. Located in a 9,000-square-foot waterfront penthouse in Vancouver, designer Karin Bohn, House of Bohn, says the kitchen pays tribute to the West Coast vistas by subtly mirroring the landscape. She designed the onyx and marble tile floor in a geometric pattern to mimic the angles of the mountains, and finishes such as the burnished brass range hood reflect the water and sparkling city lights. See the whole story here.