Design the Perfect Kitchen

Client Profile:

Ben and Jennifer Cochran and their children, Noah (14) and Emily (9), love the location of their home with access to Lake Austin, only 1/2-hour drive from downtown. The Cochrans purchased this home a few years ago knowing they would remodel the kitchen and baths because they found the large lot and access to the lake irresistible. They wanted to live in the home for some time to understand how the entire family would use the kitchen space.

The Challenge:

Jen has a schedule that allows her to prepare weekday meals for the family, so she envisioned a modern functioning kitchen with a visual heritage. The weekends are a time for her to share her culinary talents with her children and husband. They enjoy cooking together to develop new recipes. She and Ben both wanted to build a kitchen they could live in for a long time: one that was warm and inviting and could satisfy the ever-changing needs of their family.

The Solution:

They decided to open up the kitchen to the family room and also incorporate some space from the little-used dining room to create a large working kitchen. While the materials are timeless, the technology in this kitchen is up-to-the-minute. With both speed and convection ovens, this kitchen is ready to tackle any recipe. The fireclay farm sink gives a durable nod to yesteryear, while the induction cooktop brings its energy-saving precision and safety to the cooking island. The refrigerator caters to her preference of cooking fresh, wholesome meals every day.

_{• All homeowners appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental}.

The kitchen layout reflects both weekday and weekend needs. Each island has a specific use, allowing for cooking with ample counterspace on one, and congregating, collaborating or even doing homework on the other. It’s a flexible space that offers an open kitchen to keep visitors engaged but out of the work zone, or enough work space to have everyone cooking together.

In this design, the farm sink keeps its impact because it is the only item that sits forward of the line of cabinets. The fully flush dishwasher with recessed handle allows for this cohesive line.

Lighted glass shelves on the oven wall add interest, with LED lighting that extends above and below the shelves. Since this design includes ample storage, these shelves hold decorative pieces and serve a practical purpose of lighting the countertop.

Transitional design depends on a balance of classic materials and shapes that are contemporized with clean lines and finishes. This design shows a table treatment for the conversation island that is a classic concept translated with elegant materials and a very clean, simple table leg.

Separating the convection oven and the speed oven, and placing them both at eye level with counter between makes them easy to use. The controls for both are easy to read and touch, and access to the cavities is comfortable for most users. The counter between is available for loading and unloading both ovens. This layout, with counter between and also behind each oven (on the cooking island) gives even more flexibility of use.

When locating a refrigerator near a doorway, it is essential to consider the depth of the refrigerator in the walkway. Choosing a cabinet depth refrigerator not only looks better, it also eliminates an obstruction in the walkway.

Rather than one large island, consider two smaller islands that separate zones. They’ll allow comfortable use by one cook and multiple stations for many cooks.

The reclaimed French herringbone oak floors span the entire great room and dining room, giving history to these spaces. The white kitchen cabinets provide a light backdrop for the other rich materials. The cabinet doorstyle has detail without being fussy and the furniture details on the seating island make it an appropriate transition piece to the family room area of the great room.