The heart of today’s American home has become the kitchen. No longer is food prepared behind closed doors, magically appearing at the table, course by carefully timed course. In earlier decades, guests would nibble canapés and sip martinis in the living room while delicious aromas wafted throughout the house, emanating from a room they rarely saw. Now most kitchens are located not only near the dining room but as an integral part of the family room, where friends and family gather around to chat and nosh while the cooks—no longer just a wifely role but a dual-chef experience—chop, grate, stir and sauté.
To deal with the the myriad options and decisions, these homeowners turned to George Gobes, founder of Park Avenue Designs in Tampa, to customize this important space in their home.
For this completely renovated home, which was totally gutted, Gobes worked closely with contractor Chris Campbell and designer Christian Kamaris to continue in the kitchen the dramatic angular design established throughout the rest of the house.
Graceful Italian halogen art lights overhead and LED lights underneath the cabinets give a sophisticated effect.
The striking contrast of the bright white cabinetry, quartz countertops, huge white Corian-topped island, white walls and French stone floor against the dark coffee-colored stained bamboo display cabinets and 1,200-bottle wine cellar makes a definite contemporary statement.
Since the homeowners enjoy cooking together, it was important to create a space large enough to accommodate various tasks. A 27-inch double drawer side-by-side Sub-Zero refrigerator, along with a mini-fridge, provides plenty of cold storage. An induction cooktop, quick-bake oven, warming drawer and two dishwashers allow the homeowners to cook and clean for a large group with ease.
Corian was chosen to top the work island in order to accommodate the 19×52-inch sink without having seams. Two modern faucets allow two cooks to work conveniently at the same time.
The Futuro range hood, ordered from Italy, completes the contemporary design. The hood’s four metal grills, which detach easily for cleaning, appear vertically on the wall in back of the cooktop, becoming a design element on the painted glass backsplash.The overhead cabinets also open upward for greater efficiency and access.