Kitchen Ideas: The Art Lover’s Kitchen

Designed by David Jameson

Kitchens often take on multiple roles, functioning as a dining or family room, too. But for a client’s home in Bethesda, Maryland, architect David Jameson com­bined the kitchen with an art gallery. Without any walls, the "anti-kitchen," as Jameson calls it, appears to float inside the sloping glass pavilion in which it’s set. At one end are four-foot-high panels for displaying paintings and other artwork. Custom vertical-grain Doug­las fir cabinets hide the appliances to minimize visual dis­trac­tions from the art: Built into the island are a refrigerator drawer, a freezer drawer, a dishwasher and an oven. "We’re trying to dematerialize the appliances," Jameson says. "The only one you can really see is the microwave; it’s just this little burst of machinery on a wall."

Features

Ceiling

Jameson arranged African ribbon-mahogany blocks on the soaring ceiling in an undulating checkerboard pattern to diffuse sound.

Flooring

Jameson chose Green Mountain Mist quartzite flooring for both the kitchen and the outdoor dining area because its matte finish is easy to clean and its pebbly texture helps to protect against slips and falls.

Lighting and Hood

The sandblasted aluminum frame, which runs the entire length of the island, contains an energy-saving LED strip for lighting and appears to float in midair around the custom stainless steel hood.

Island

The 20-foot-long island is topped with honed Italian Cremo marble and contains Sub-Zero 700 series refrigerator and freezer drawers. From $3,126; subzero.com.

Published December 2007