Food for thought

When designing a kitchen, designers have to take into account the placement of appliances. For the featured kitchen, the inclusion of a wood-fired oven was an additional challenge.

"There is no question that these clients are seriously into food," says designer Shannon Cline, principal of John Henry Kitchen & Bath Design. "Their enthusiasm for world cuisine and real food is apparent in every aspect of this kitchen but especially in their desire for a wood-burning pizza oven. This is an appliance that demands a certain level of commitment, from the cook and from a design perspective.

"When I was working on the plan for this kitchen I had the oven on every wall before I came to a configuration that I was happy with."

The designer says as well as the oven there was another consideration in the design a request for two islands.

"This kitchen is about zones Mom's zone and the children's zone. Mom rules in her zone and, as beneficiaries of the outcome, there is little argument from the family. The main island divides these zones. On one side there is the preparation and cooking area and on the other is an area where the kids can fix themselves a snack or hang out while Mom is cooking," says Cline.

A sink, refrigerator drawers and separate dishwasher have been placed on this side of the island for use by the children. The secondary island also functions as a breakfast bar.

Equally important to the functionality of the kitchen were the materials used.

"The house is built in the Northwestern style relaxed and unpretentious, and in tune with the natural environment," says Cline. "The material palette had to reflect this, so we used warm woods and stone. The food and the people are the stars of this space; the rest just needed to be supportive. It is a design with clean lines and a strong focus that's primarily functional, yet inherently inviting."

Story by: Trendsideas