This masterful kitchen renovation incorporates the comforts of home with modern functionality.
“With as much time as we spend in the kitchen, I wanted to have a space that was inviting and warm. My plan was to bring an old-world charm into my home and my kitchen,” says Anderson.
To create a kitchen that was conducive to her lifestyle and taste, Anderson employed the services of Brad Creer from Bradford Design in Bethesda, Maryland. “Leslie had unusually good taste and sense of style. She also had a pretty good idea of what she wanted. When she brought me into the project, she had photographs of kitchens with multiple finishes,” says Creer.
Based on Anderson’s desire, a distinctive feature of this kitchen became its three unique finishes. Creer used a black finish with a rub-through exposing its Alder wood color on the range mantel and refrigerator armoire, and a brown glaze on the perimeter painted cabinets, both of which complement the stained pine island and barn oak flooring.
“I wanted to create an antiqued look with distressed finishes and soothing light. In using three different finishes, the cabinets give the appearance of furniture, especially the armoire cabinet on our refrigerators. The hand-carved stone sink is one of my favorite pieces. It blends in beautifully. The kitchen has become an extension of our family room,” says Anderson.
Creer agrees that a lot of kitchens seem to be clinical, like a hospital, all white and all the same. What makes this kitchen unique is that it’s totally unlike walking into most other kitchens. Many of the appliances in the kitchen look like furniture.
A custom island cut to match the angles of the walls in the kitchen is accented by a chandelier from Decorium in Alexandria, Virginia. INSET: Three unique finishes were used throughout the kitchen to make the room feel more like a livable space.
“There are many custom elements in this kitchen that make it one of a kind. The range hood is totally custom, the Sub-Zero refrigerator armoire and all of the wall cabinets are all stand alone units with custom brackets,” says Creer. He even added a small cabinet box attached under a wall unit to hide the paper towels. Creer attached the box to the brackets by using distressed iron rods so it becomes part of the overall cabinet design.
“I chose the Wolf range and oven because, along with its superior reputation, it lends itself to the old world feeling that I wanted to create. Brad designed a beautiful custom mantel that we coupled with a copper hood to create a hearth effect,” says Anderson.The countertops were done in a honed-black granite instead of a sealed glossy surface because Anderson wanted a more natural look. She also used leaded glass on the cabinet fronts to give a more open feel. “They seem more like furniture than kitchen cabinets,” says Anderson.
The cabinets were all custom-designed by Creer and made by Sterling Custom Cabinetry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Creer provided detailed drawings for each cabinet, including the exact sizes of the doors, framing stiles and rails, and moldings. “Leslie wanted an old-world look and something that fit into the rest of the house. I gathered inspiration from the existing furniture and incorporated it into my own design of the cabinetry,” says Creer.
Entertaining was also an important consideration in the design of the kitchen. “We enjoy entertaining so it was important to me to have a big, functional island that would be conducive to having a lot of people in the kitchen at once without being crowded,” says Anderson.
The kitchen space is designed as an extension of the living areas throughout the home.
Because of the configuration of the kitchen space, the island was not designed in the shape of a rectangle or square; instead it matches the angles of the wall. “We wanted to create a small triangle between the sink, the range and the refrigerator. Someone should be able to get something out of the refrigerator without interfering with the person who is preparing dinner. It is an open kitchen so the host can be a part of the company as she is preparing a meal,” explains Creer.
Anderson uses photos and flowers on the countertops to make the kitchen space more like all the other rooms and not just a place to cook. “This old world kitchen is really more like a hearth room. It is inviting and pulls you in. It beautifully conforms to the other rooms around it; it doesnêt feel like a kitchen.”
Jennifer K. Dansicker works on Editorial Special Projects for ChesapeakeHome.
Contact:
Bradford Design, LLC: bradforddesignllc.com or 301-320-0930
