Twice as good new kitchen by Leon House

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Traditional kitchen by Leon House

A close up view of the kitchen cabinetry flowerpot, furniture, home, interior design, table, wood, orange, brown — A close up view of the kitchen cabinetry which is lacquered American oak.

solid wood kitchen designed by Leon House features cabinetry, ceiling, countertop, cuisine classique, estate, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown

A view of the entire kitchen. - A countertop, cuisine classique, estate, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown, gray

In this new kitchen a custom square hood cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, estate, home, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown

The larger island in this kitchen has an cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, interior design, kitchen, room, brown, gray

The business end of the main island in countertop, water, wood, gray

A close up view of the kitchen cabinetry. cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, furniture, interior design, kitchen, room, white, orange

There are his-and-hers refrigerator drawers in the side countertop, cuisine classique, home, interior design, kitchen, room, window, gray, brown

A view of the kitchen. - A view cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, home, interior design, kitchen, room, under cabinet lighting, wood stain, brown, orange

A close up view of the kitchen cabinetry. bathroom, bathroom accessory, bathroom cabinet, cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, home, interior design, kitchen, room, sink, wood stain, brown, gray

A view of the kitchen. - A view bathroom, cabinetry, countertop, cuisine classique, flooring, home, interior design, kitchen, room, wood, brown, orange

A view of the kitchen area before it cabinetry, countertop, interior design, kitchen, living room, room, brown, gray

Matching a kitchen to the architectural style of a house makes good design sense, although a complementary style can be a more appropriate response than a strictly enforced theme.

This Tuscan-style house had a sleek, Melamine kitchen that seemed out of character with the house. It was also too small for the owners' requirements, says kitchen designer Leon House.

"The owners have a large family and love to entertain. To create space for a larger kitchen, we removed the wall between the kitchen and dining room. This doubled the size of the kitchen, giving us plenty of room for an extra-large island and table, a separate cooking island and a lot of perimeter storage and work space."

But it was not just the size of the kitchen that doubled. There are now also two ovens either side of the cooking island a freestanding Ilve range, and a Miele under-counter oven. And there are two porcelain butler sinks, plus a third sink on one end of the island, and two refrigerator drawers as well as a large refrigerator.

Legend to plan of kitchen by Leon Hous: angle, area, design, diagram, floor plan, font, line, pattern, plan, product, product design, purple, structure, text, white — Legend to plan of kitchen by Leon Hous: 1 entry doors, 2 refrigerator, 3 counters with overhead display cabinets, 4 pantry, 5 cooking island, 6 dishwashers, 7 porcelain butler sinks, 8 coffee station, 9 stainless steel prep counter with sink, 10 main island, 11 breakfast table, 12 refrigerator drawers, 13 round cabinets.

Having so many workstations makes it easy for several people to work in the kitchen at the same time.

House says the design was influenced by the work of renowned US kitchen designer Johnny Grey, who has often incorporated round cabinets in his fitted kitchens.

"The perimeter cabinets, which are all in American oak, are bookended by round cabinets that soften the look, and help with the circulation," says House. "These feature handcrafted drawers that fit flush with the unit. Other doors and drawers have raised and fielded panel doors."

The designer says the oak was custom stained to match the existing doors to the kitchen. However, because the kitchen is large, he wanted to avoid a monotony of wood cabinets. The islands are consequently painted a light almond shade, which tones with the floor tiles and the tiles on the backsplash.

A view of the entire kitchen. countertop, cuisine classique, estate, interior design, kitchen, real estate, room, brown, gray — A view of the entire kitchen.

For added visual interest House added a low table to one end of the large island. This features hand-carved cabriole legs, and incorporates a drawer designed to accommodate the daily newspaper. The other end of the island has a dedicated food prep area, with a stainless steel sink, custom cutting boards and built-in knife stand, waste disposal system and paper towel dispenser.

This workstation is lower than the granite island top, ensuring this remains a distinctive feature of the kitchen. Granite also features on the tops of the round cabinets and on a coffee station, while the rest of the perimeter countertops are Corian.