Kitchen, Claremont Heights, Berkeley

The kitchen in this 1920's Mediterranean-style house was accessible only through a butler's pantry and a dark hallway. To integrate the kitchen more fully with the living spaces, we replaced the wall between the kitchen and dining room with a welcoming arch, which is also echoed in the windows and granite island countertop. We added cherry cabinets, and removed a second wall between the original cooking and breakfast areas to create an island and window seat. What was once a dark, unappealing space now overflows with light and warmth.

Kitchen, Nob Hill, San Francisco

The owners of this Nob Hill apartment needed more kitchen space, but wanted to maintain the Art Deco character of the building and feature their eclectic collection of floral dishes and platters. Since the only light source came from a narrow window well, lighting enhancements were also a must. We enlarged and reorganized the space by taking part of an adjacent guest room, and added absolute black granite countertops and black and white tiles throughout. The resulting bright, cheerful kitchen even has lights at the base of the cabinets so these avid dancers can dance the night away!