High profile - sleek, wood-lined kitchen remodeled by Cindy Black

Themed kitchens run the risk of being overwhelming in a decorative sense, even when they are designed to match the architecture of the house.

The original kitchen in this Santa Barbara-style house was a case in point. Remodeling architect Cindy Black of Hello Kitchen says some of the Italianate decorative elements impacted on the kitchen's functionality.

"The owners wanted a more practical, modern kitchen, but the design still needed to work with a 12ft-high wood ceiling and sandstone tiled floors," she says.

Christina Shipley of Maison and Bouquet worked closely with the owner to determine the concept for the kitchen. They selected sapele wood cabinetry for its close match to the existing wood ceilings. Hello Kitchen teamed with Royce Flournoy of Texas Construction to bring their ideas to life.

To provide visual interest, the top row of the cabinets features a lattice panel, backed by a translucent papyrus-style paper and backlit by LED lighting. The top of the cabinetry glows like a lantern at night, Black says.

Directly beneath this row, there is a bank of cabinets with slab doors, with the horizontal grain of the wood expressed. The rest of the cabinets reference a Shaker look, but with shallow panel doors.

"Having a shallow knife edge, rather than a deep recess gives the cabinetry a flatter look than traditional Shaker doors," says Black. "This helps smooth out the whole kitchen as there are fewer shadows."

Shipley's interior concept paired the wood with a Walker Zanger art glass tiled backsplash that extends the full height of the room, creating a wallpaper effect behind a suspended hood.

A Colonial Creme granite, chosen was specified for the countertops.

"This surface combines the look of marble with the durability of granite," says Black.

On the island, the granite top extends beyond the base by several inches, much like a table top. The effect is enhanced by an absence of toekicks at the base of the island.

Black says the island includes a secondary sink and is used for much of the food preparation. It also accommodates a drawer microwave and wine refrigerator.

"Great attention was paid to storage. In addition to the cabinets in the kitchen, there is a walk-in pantry. We also provided good hardware, with He¤fele Le Mans corner pullouts and Blum OrgaLine organizers."

Flournoy says considerable structural work was also undertaken to open up the corner beside the computer desk area. This involved the removal of a beam.

Story by: Colleen Hawkes