Mid-Century Modern Kitchen in Alexandria, Virginia
Project Overview
This project was both highly unusual and very enjoyable for us: Our clients were a married couple, the husband a carpenter, and the wife an architect. Both of them are intimately familiar with residential renovation and design, and they worked closely with one of our architects to draft the plans. Their existing kitchen was closed off from the rest of the house and didn’t offer the space they needed. They’d been slowly renovating their house on their own, and the kitchen was one of the last rooms to go under the knife.
Design + Layout
With many expert minds working together, coming up with a satisfying layout was simple. The hometowners wanted to remove a load-bearing wall to open the original kitchen to the dining room, allowing more space for a large island with more counter space. We wanted to highlight the existing sloping ceiling, an original mid-century touch, which we achieved with a bold color contrast between the hood vent shroud and the flat white ceiling. The resultant angle underlines the sloping ceiling and height difference between each side of the room.
Style + Finishes
Though most design choices tended towards the understated and timeless, with simple slab lower cabinets, horizontal-grain ash uppers, and lightly veined quartz, we took the opportunity to add some flair with matching patterned geometric backsplashes and island panels. The natural light coming in from the large window over the sink casts changing highlights and shadows across the textured surface throughout the day. The fixtures share flat black and bronze accents, finishing out a streamlined yet comfortable aesthetic.