Special Focus: Kitchen Design

Classic, With a Twist

Blue and white are classic kitchen colors, but the way Karen Perry and Veronica Campbell incorporated them in Perry’s Darien kitchen is anything but ordinary. Here, the smoky blue-gray glass tile that forms the backsplash and frames the long window above the sink acts as a dramatic anchor for the creamy white cabinets and white marble countertops. The warmth and dimension in the space come from the designers’ use of a variety of materials, from the leather that wraps the cabinet pulls to the walnut that trims the stainless steel of the range hood to the glass inserts at the top of the ceiling-high cabinets. The island serves for both dining and prepping, thanks to the oiled butcher- block slab at one end. In the adjacent dining area, Perry added a cozy note by introducing beige drapes and a taupe-and-cream patterned rug.
Kitchen design: Veronica Campbell, Deane
Interior design: Karen Perry, Karen Perry Designs
Architect: Robert A. Cardello Architects
Builder: Robert Liesegang, Liesegang Building & Remodeling

Continental Appeal

The island—that all-important element in the modern-day kitchen—takes on a new look in this house in Stamford’s Shippan Point neighborhood. Designer Rebecca Reynolds of New Canaan Kitchens came up with the curvaceous design for clients who wanted a kitchen with the feel of old Europe and the efficiency of twenty-first-century America. The mahogany top gives the island a more formal, furniture-like look, and the curved dining edge means better access to the home’s lovely views of Long Island Sound. Warm tones—the buttercream hue of the painted cabinetry, the brown and gold veining in the marble, and the brass of the range hood and the light fixtures—predominate. And sharp edges are eschewed for more feminine, shapely lines. A three-sided fireplace built into a column of layered stone provides further warmth, both visually and literally.
Kitchen design: Rebecca Reynolds, New Canaan Kitchens
Architect: Andrew Nuzzi
Builder: Construction Management Group

Let There Be Light

The owners of this Westport house loved their spacious family-room addition, but the adjacent kitchen then needed attention. Joseph Najmy and his team at NuKitchens devised a plan to turn the dark, confined, U-shaped cooking area into a bright, open space that looks like a natural extension of the family room. Now, a six-burner stainless-steel range sits against one long wall, recessed between oak cabinets and flanked by a sleek stainless-steel refrigerator on one side and a matching freezer on the other. Prep work and dishwashing take place at the new island, where a slab of durable quartzite sits atop oak cabinets and drawers. In an inspired bit of design, most of the oak is set horizontally, giving the wood added visual interest. Opening the space gave the designers enough room to add a desk and TV area as well as a handsome wet bar that sits just outside the dining room.
Design and construction: NuKitchens

Functional and Fabulous

Jan Hiltz’s client loves to cook. When the two women talked about how to modernize the dated kitchen in her Fairfield house, the homeowner was determined to make the space superefficient as well as beautiful. Working with kitchen designer Rami Afifi, Hiltz placed a generous island at the room’s center, just steps away from the stove, sink, and refrigerator. At first blush it may seem inconvenient to place the stove and fridge on opposite walls, but two pullout refrigerators in the island mean the homeowner can keep the ingredients she uses regularly at the ready. Classic elements (a farmer’s sink and a French country–style range hood) and contemporary elements (stainless-steel drawer faces and pulls) coexist peacefully. Marble counters with gray veining bring warmth and energy to the mostly white kitchen, as do the stainless-steel diamond-patterned insets in the island.
Interior design: Jan Hiltz, Jan Hiltz Interiors
Kitchen design: Rami Afifi Home
Architecture and construction: Raymond Design Builders