* Capture all the light you can. At the restaurant, Kunz works in a windowless space. This kitchen has a large bay window (with a view down to the pond) and two skylights that flood the room with light. There's also halogen track lighting set next to the hand-hewn beams.

* Create open shelves to display collections. Kunz ran glass shelving across the windows to silhouette his favorite teapots. On a shelf over the door and windows, he shows off attractive but seldom-used jars and bottles. 

* Drawers can replace cabinets. Because Kunz's ceilings were too low to allow for wall cabinets, he had to put his storage under the counters. Now he finds having his pots and pans in slide-out drawers extremely handy. (He advises putting dish towels or paper towels between nonstick pans to keep them from scratching one another.) 

* The deeper the counters,the better. Kunz put in three-footers (two-footers are standard); they double as buffets, and the added depth provides more storage space in the drawers underneath. 

* Set the refrigerator under the counter. Kunz didn't want a bulky full-size unit in the kitchen. Instead, he installed two two-drawer Sub-Zeros units and a two-drawer KitchenAid freezer under the counters. He also keeps a full-size Sub-Zero freezer in the pantry for larger items. 

* Install a faucet next to the cooktop. Reflecting his notion that it's essential to keep heat and water as close together as possible, Kunz took a tip from the kitchen at Lespinasse: the pot-filler by Grohe comes right out of the wall by the Dynamic Cooking Systems stove, so he doesn't have to carry heavy pots of water over from the sink. 

* Work with butcher block.It's warmer than marble or granite and cheaper as well. "The only problem," Kunz points out, "is that I can't put sizzling pans down on it. I place coarse wooden blocks on the counters." As in the restaurant, the counters are treated with polyurethane, which increases their resistance to bacteria. 

* One garbage can isn't enough. This is another idea inspired by the kitchen at Lespinasse. "You can never have enough garbage bins in a kitchen," Kunz says. "I have three, so there's one everywhere you turn." Two are for trash; the one next to the stove is for compost.