When severe flood damage necessitated a whole-house renovation, the owner of a Georgetown townhouse tapped designer Paul Bentham of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath to overhaul the ruined kitchen. This time around, she wanted a simple, streamlined space with a modern, European sensibility—as well as a more practical layout.
Bentham started by shifting the refrigerator and pantry cupboards to one side of the kitchen and the double ovens to the other, then centered the cooktop in between. He maximized the length of the island, which houses the sink, and topped it in Caesarstone with a waterfall edge to create a clean, uniform look. Semi-custom cabinets by Canada-based Zonavita Kitchens offer the sleek, contemporary lines of European brands.
The peripheral cabinets and those under the island are clad in durable melamine with a gray-hued, horizontal oak grain; to either side of the cooktop, high-gloss cabinets in a warm shade of brown-gray provide contrast and “create a reflective quality for depth,” says Bentham. He added a soffit at ceiling height throughout to create a clean visual line. Caesarstone tops the remaining counter space, while the backsplash above the cooktop is gray-painted glass.
For a final touch, Bentham installed eye-catching contemporary light fixtures in a shiny, metallic finish over the island. “I felt that with the grays and browns, the room needed something with punch that would tie into the overall look but give it an edgy feel,” he says. Sleek, modern stools in chrome and white complete the space.
• DETAILS •
Cabinetry: Zonavita; zonavita.com. Countertops: Caesarstone Haze through Stone & Tile World; stoneandtileworld.com. Backsplash: Back-painted glass by Hutchison Glass & Mirror, Inc.; hutchison glassandmirror.com. Appliances: Miele USA; mieleusa.com. Lighting: lightingdirect.com.
KITCHEN DESIGN: Paul Bentham, Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath, Chevy Chase, Maryland. CONTRACTOR: Paul Davis Restoration, Gaithersburg, Maryland. PHOTOGRAPHY: Bob Narod.
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