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Mediterranean-style kitchen with transitional white cabinets, decorative tile backsplash

Traditional Mediterranean-style kitchen with large black range, display cabinets, hutch, reclaimed wood beams and doors

A testament to enduring design this new cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, gray, brown
A testament to enduring design this new kitchen replaces a similar kitchen designed by the same team 20 years earlier. Designer Elina Katsioula-Beall says the owner loved the former kitchen in the Spanish-style house and wanted it replicated with a few subtle changes. New white cabinets are teamed with blue granite countertops. A custom hood and soffit conceal the ventilation ducting.

Twenty years after the kitchen in this Spanish-style house was built,the owner came back to the original design team and asked for "the same again please".

Designer Elina Katsioula-Beall says the owner, Rupert Perry, had enjoyed cooking and dining in the kitchen for two decades. But it was time for an update.

"Rupert wanted the kitchen to better reflect his more mature lifestyle it needed to provide more comfort and be welcoming for his children's families. Everything new, including the refrigerator, range and sink, needed to be a little larger, but it had to fit within the same space. The kitchen also needed to include two dishwashers, an additional speed oven, wine cooler and a commercial-grade juicer by the sink."

Katsioula-Beall says instead of making dramatic changes, the design focused on subtle transformations that reflect the owner's unchanging taste. The colour palette, for example, remains true to the original Casa California style of the house.


A bay window at one end of this cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, interior design, kitchen, room, window, gray
A bay window at one end of this new kitchen provides a pleasant view of greenery, with the Hollywood hills beyond. The commercial juicer machine was a request from the owner. The design is by DeWitt Designer Kitchens.

Pristine white cabinets and subway tiles are paired with a blue china hutch with a decorative Mexican tile splashback. And the original blue and white benchtops were replaced with blue Bahia granite that keeps to the colour theme.

"Other parts of the house feature solid wood beams, so we introduced reclaimed beams to the kitchen as well," Katsioula-Beall says. "We also used a recycled butcher's block that had been in the house for 38 years this is on the hutch benchtop. And we have added new reclaimed wood doors to the dining and laundry rooms that are in keeping with the look."

A narrow window seat was replaced with a comfortable, high-back leather booth that wraps around one end of the room to accommodate the extended family, and grandchildren. One side of the booth incorporates wine cubbies, while the other has a bookcase with speakers hidden inside.

"The original floor featured terracotta tiles that were rather hard on the feet," says the designer. "So we replaced these with white oak hardwood around the perimeter. This is more comfortable to stand on for long periods. But to retain a connection with the former kitchen we created a centre tile rug of reclaimed Spanish tiles with a decorative border. Similar decorative tiles, cut to highlight the central flower, are embedded within the textured hood. We also introduced the same motif to the centre section of the oak dining table, so that it can accommodate hot casserole dishes straight from the oven."

The remodel of this kitchen by Elina Katsioula-Beall countertop, cuisine classique, flooring, interior design, kitchen, room, brown, gray
The remodel of this kitchen by Elina Katsioula-Beall saw a narrow bench seat replaced with a leather booth with an oak dining table. Because the owner wanted a high back to the seating the windows at this end of the room were shortened. However, the designer was able to enlarge the rear entry and introduce bigger windows to other areas so the natural light could flood through to the kitchen.

The designer says most of the project challenges were structural. Before much work could be undertaken, the 1930s foundations were reinforced and the old plumbing and electrical wiring replaced.

"The existing hood ducting had to remain, but this was concealed within a white textured soffit that turns and protrudes to form the hood surround."

Other decorative features of the kitchen include a trio of ceramic masks on powdercoated metal frames. These are suspended on a utensil rack above the range. The owner's collection of blue and white plateware and glass storage jars are also on display.

Credit list

Kitchen designer
Elina Katsioula-Beall (Hollywood Hills, CA)
Cabinetry
Maple with Iceberg and custom blue finishes by Columbia Cabinets
Countertops
Blue Bahia granite by Molise Marble & Granite; recycled butchers block
Sink and faucets
Franke
Ventilation
Bertazzoni
Dishwasher
Miele Futura Diamond
Tile rug
Mission Tile West
Table
Custom by Serrao Cabinets
Builder
MCGW Construction
Hardware
Alno
Backsplash
South Beach white tile from Country Floors, Mexican tiles from Mission Tile West
Ovens
Bertazzoni Heritage range; Miele speed oven
Flooring
White oak hardwood by Bohnhoff Lumber
Lighting
Lutron recessed halogen

Story by: Colleen Hawkes

28 Jul, 2015

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