ARchitect Chris Landis redesigned this post-modern, elegant kitchen to accommodate the owner's needs and aesthetic.
When Washington lobbyists Jay and Amy Hawkins moved into a circa-1950s Arlington contemporary five years ago, they liked everything about the spacious two-level home but the kitchen. The product of an early 1980s upgrade, the kitchen was distinctly dated and designed to shield the cook behind corner walls and an L-shaped lunch bar and serving station.
“It was a kind of last generation Mom’s kitchen,” says Amy Hawkins, an avid gourmet chef who entertains frequently for both pleasure and business. “But since there are many occasions when I need to both cook and host, the old kitchen layout was too fenced-in.”
Add to this structural challenge Hawkins’ passion for interior design aesthetics—and what emerges is a renovation requiring step-saving efficiencies, a chef’s organizational perspective, and artful visual impact. Architect Chris Landis, principal of DC-based Landis Construction, was chosen to implement Hawkins’ vision of the redesigned kitchen.
“The core challenge was to create a space plan that works for social gatherings yet steers traffic away from the cook’s work triangle,” Landis recalls. “Since the kitchen is midway between the formal entertaining rooms in front of the house and a sizeable sunroom and terraces at the rear, we needed an integral design solution.”
To accommodate, Landis eliminated the counters, concentrating the action in a mid-room food preparation island—complete with a fixed rectangular counter surface that is offset from the cabinet base by around 10 degrees. At the farthest point, the counter overhangs the cabinetry by about 30 inches off the perimeter—“just enough,” Landis says, “to suggest a kind of psychological speed bump that directs passersby away from the chef.”
Landis designers created the 10 by 4 foot custom fixture from scratch, developing a plywood and steel reinforced frame that attaches the counter to the island while remaining completely hidden under an interim surface of stone veneer. In everyday use, the counter is a frequent perch for the Hawkins’ two young children who deploy it for snacks and homework.
At a recent party in which Hawkins sponsored a celebrity chef preparing his specialties, the island design proved out perfectly. “There was lots of room for guests to observe, yet the chef had ample working space, and finished dishes could be lined up on the counter within easy reach,” says Amy Hawkins.
On occasions when Hawkins doubles hosting and cooking duties, the new kitchen makes multi-tasking easy as guests circulate freely from front to back without violating food prep zones. For larger catered affairs, pocket doors keep visitors out of the kitchen altogether.
A custom post-modern chandelier and backlit resin backsplash embossed with a delicate grass-and-leaf motif—also creations of the Landis design studio—elevate the interior to a postmodern elegance that Amy Hawkins considers a complement to art and collectibles in other parts of the house.
On top of the plaudits of the Hawkins and their many friends and neighbors, the kitchen was named the Washington-area’s “best residential kitchen in the $100,000 to $150,000” category by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
John Byrd has been writing about residential architecture, building and remodeling for 30 years. His work has appeared in House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Southern Living, and other national and regional publications.
Contact:
Landis Construction: landisconstuction.com or 202-726-3777
