GREAT SPACE: Two rooms become one in a kitchen designed for collaborative cooking parties

This article originally appeared in CityHome 2014.

By SARAH BROWN

The counters, with waterfall edges, are in Caesarstone’s new “London Fog,” which, with its subtle grey veining, resembles marble . Photo by Doubespace Photography

“For us, food is not just sustenance — it’s a hobby, it’s a sport, it’s social.” So says Aaron, who, with his wife, Phu*, now has the perfect space to host the busy kitchen parties he enjoys so much. When guests come for dinner at this Island Park residence, they arrive knowing that the evening will be participatory. “Roll up your sleeves, put an apron on over your dress, and get in there,” says Aaron. Having fun with food is how they decompress from their crazy work lifestyles, he explains.

Nathan Kyle, an interior designer at Astro Design Centre, worked with the couple to expand their kitchen from a tiny 10 by 12 feet to an expansive 20 by 23 feet, in the process taking out two walls and merging the old kitchen with an unused cold room. Knowing that the couple love to entertain, he came up with the idea for two islands, which break up the space and allow for the creation of many individual workstations. “This layout gets everyone involved,” Kyle enthuses. “No one’s rubbing elbows, but you can all be having conversations while working at different prep stations.”

The house was built in the 1940s, so the homeowners were looking for a look that both met their aesthetic — clean, simple, functional — and used materials that had a timeless quality. Kyle opted to anchor the palette with white, creating a modern sensibility while giving a nod to the mid-century roots of the house. He warmed up the room with large-format porcelain floor tiles in rich grey and a black backsplash laid out in a classic herringbone pattern. The homeowners couldn’t be happier. “We think of ourselves as custodians of this house,” explains Aaron. “Our living here is just one chapter, and the renovation respects that heritage.”

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