Equipped with function and aesthetics in mind, this kitchen supports serious cooking as both a hobby and a social event. “The husband is a pretty good chef,” says project architect Jon Kwon. “While he is cooking, the guests gather around the L-shaped island, and he puts on a show.” Restaurant-inspired features—stainless-steel work counters, a butcher-block island, commercial-grade appliances—make the chef’s work a pleasure. The cabinets are coated with a glossy baked-on polyester finish that stands up to rough treatment. A cork floor in the cooking area is comfortable for hours of standing (the surrounding floor is ground concrete inlaid with zinc strips).
Guests park their elbows on a limestone counter, enjoying a space that communicates easily with the adjacent dining and living areas. It is a comfortable perch from which to watch the stove-top action.
But in this theatrical kitchen, the cooking show is only half of a double feature. The property, in the northwest part of Washington state, borders a picturesque bend in the Skagit River, so Kwon designed the new kitchen around the outdoor view, as well. Long runs of custom, yellow-cedar windows line the outside walls. Opposite the kitchen, two glass doors slide back from a corner, opening the interior to the covered terrace and the river beyond.
