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	Photo: Lisa Sze

"Functionality" is the buzzword for a few Oakland home owners who recently remodeled their kitchens. Easy cooking and clean up, plus a well-defined kitchen work triangle (sink, stove and refrigerator), drive their new redos. Multiple workspaces to make meal preparation a shared experience and improved storage are other essential elements.

While ease of living is the primary aim, these owners wanted to preserve architectural unity. Those whose older homes boast period styling strived to make their kitchens look like a natural extension, replicating original trim, molding and windows. Owners and designers had more latitude with contemporary rooms but kept true to the inherent design, selecting wide-open floor plans and up-to-date finishings. Today’s kitchen is more than just a place to cook dinner. Instead, it’s a room that serves multiple uses, from command control to entertainment center. As the new great room of America, a remodeled kitchen is also a personal reflection of its owner’s wants and style—an expression of creativity as well as a unique set of needs.

Distinct Possibilities

Designer: Susan Templer of Templer Interiors



When Mary Ann Rafferty and Kate Stankis redid their kitchen as part of a larger remodel, they wanted something distinct to complement their modern, simple aesthetic. One criterion was ample wall space. “They didn’t want wall cabinets,” says their designer, Susan Templer. Challenged to find storage alternatives, she created roomy cabinets in the center island. The homeowners also insisted on a large work area with counter seating, so Templer designed an innovative bi-level countertop, bowing the raised portion to offset the squareness of the room.

A metal tile the homeowners found on a shopping expedition prompted the backsplash above the sink. “They liked it so much and wanted to use it, but they didn’t know where,” says Templer. They finally chose the kitchen, because it matched the stainless appliances and served as a striking accent to the countertop and new bay window over the sink. Templer says the placement was inspired by the sprays of graphite that come from a slightly shaken Etch A Sketch, so she scattered tiles above the backsplash to create the effect of a small explosion.

21st-Century Living

Designer: Mark O’Neil with Design Essentials & O’Neil Interiors



Mark O’Neil and Brett Lowery’s original 1920s kitchen was wedged into one little nook at the front of their house. Adjacent to it were the breakfast room, laundry room and garage; it seemed like doors were everywhere. “It was a bad arrangement for the current generation,” says O’Neil. To pull the design kitchen into the 21st century, he combined the rooms into a single area and drew on the resources of his family business, Renaissance Tile and Bath of Atlanta, along with Style Bath & Kitchen of Oakland and MJ Ballon, a renowned faux painter from Atlanta.

To match the Old World Mediterranean design, Ballon stressed the cabinet finish with a warm butternut- colored glaze. The extensive tile adds a rich, subtle touch. Floors and countertops are made of Travertine, which is also used for cabinet and window trim. For color contrast, there’s a center island topped with a dark Emperador marble and a deep caramel-brown accent wall.

The original kitchen nook is now a horseshoe banquette with clever recessed ledges that hold daily necessities. Docking stations and outlets for reading lamps are on both sides of the table, and a built-in cappuccino machine and microwave are close at hand.

Loft Living

Designer: Joan Chamberlain
Contractor: Tom Dannenberg



Joan Chamberlain, a former cook for Masa’s in San Francisco and the Napa Valley’s Auberge de Soleil, designed this dramatic kitchen for Ed Hanford’s loft near Jack London Square. “It’s basically set up as cooking stations,” she says. Built around a large center island, the design mimics a professional restaurant kitchen: One side, next to the ovens, is for desserts and baking; another side, with generous counter space, stove top and vegetable sink, is for prep; another side houses the kitchen sink, dishwasher and cabinets for easy clean up; and a fourth side offers a nearby raised bar (not shown) and stools for optimal chef watching.

Chamberlain’s design employs limestone and stainless steel. “I love stainless, because it never dates itself,” she says. “And I like hard surfaces in the kitchen—when I’m doing a big cooking job and pull a roasting pan out of the oven, I want to be able to sit it down anywhere without worrying.” Another nod to the restaurant industry is the commercial-grade refrigerator, which can handle anything from a large turkey to a flat of strawberries.

Hanford has only been in the loft about a year and is still learning all of his kitchen’s features, but its design—which allows anyone to cook for a crowd—suits his style. “When I entertain, I like big groups,” he says.

Preserving The Past

Designer And Contractor: Custom Kitchens By John Wilkins Inc.



When the cook of the house came to Custom Kitchens by John Wilkins Inc. of Oakland to discuss her remodel, she had done a lot of research about what she wanted. "We were able to tweak her ideas," says designer Joy Wilkins, "and I think we wound up with her dream kitchen."

Visitors to the L-shaped kitchen enter through an Ogee arched doorway, a Moorish detail evident elsewhere in the home. The pointed archway was also added to divide the kitchen from an adjoining breakfast area. "The entry to the breakfast room used to be square," says Wilkins. "Changing it really opened up the space." Double-hung windows over the sink reveal lush greenery, a color scheme echoed in the variegated Verde Fantastico granite countertops. The backsplash mixes subway tiles with a subtle decorative green-tile ribbon matching the granite, and green accent tiles form a geometric pattern over the stove.

An awkward layout of counters and cabinets in the former kitchen made cooking a chore instead of a pleasure. The kitchen had minimal storage and lacked overhead cabinets, so retrieving pots and dishes meant crouching down and digging through deep cupboards. The new kitchen offers 80 percent more storage—room for all the couple’s cooking necessities, from big cast iron pans to electric appliances. Because everything now has a place, countertops remain sleek and clutter free.

Roaming Room

Designer And Contractor: J.B. Turner & Sons



There’s room to roam in Scott Willis and Charmaine Clay’s kitchen. "We wanted them to have a running space," says Willis of his young children. To accommodate daughter Sydney, 6, and son Austin, 8, there is generous space between the breakfast table and the island. By angling the island at one corner, visitors and family can sit on tall stools and visit with the cook. "Every morning the kids sit there while I cook breakfast," says Willis. "They like to watch."

Beyond making the kitchen kid friendly, Clay and Willis’ other priority was making the kitchen easy to work in. "I was into making minimum movement," says Willis of how he wanted to manage cooking and clean up. He can unload the dishwasher without moving. When he steps on a pedal masked to look like base cabinet trim, a large 3–foot–high drawer with the garbage can inside instantly pops open.

This was Willis and Clay’s second project with Marilyn Gardunio of J.B. Turner & Sons, and together they chose extra–tall Cherry cabinetry, café green granite countertops and a backsplash of Giallo Atlantico tumbled stones. For the floor, they chose a textured ceramic tile in a Maui honey color. Beneath the floors, radiant heat keeps little toes toasty.