Islands Ahoy

Blessed with a big, beautiful kitchen? Consider the benefits of two islands. In a two·cook kitchen, many traffic jams can be so avoided, but a twin-island scenario is not for everyone, says Annie Graunke with Martha O'Hara Interiors. "Consider your lifestyle to understand which scenario works best," Graunke says.

Traflic Flow First
Make sure your floor plan leaves enough space between islands and perimeter countertops to accommodate food prep and cleanup, Graunke says. Her firm recommends aisles at least 42 inches wide so open appliance doors don't impede traffic.

Function Follows
Understand how you'd use the islands. If you entertain often, you may want fridge drawers and an icemaker in the serving island, Graunke says. A baker may benefit from an island with a lower counter for rolling out dough. Place features where they make sense, she says. Homeowner Landyn Hutchinson’s central work island includes pullout trash cans on the side closest to the kitchen‘s main sink.

Strategic Storage
Two islands provide more storage. Designate storage that suits each island's location, thinking of the work zones nearby. Store platters and serving pieces in the island closest to the dining room and cookware in the island near the range.

Savvy Style
Having two islands doesn't need to mean matching looks, Graunke says- especially if you're going for a casual cottage style that mixes finishes and materials. In Landyn’s case, she wanted the island closest to the living room to be decked out in furniture- style details because of the visibility. "Don't be afraid to mix it up and make it interesting," Graunke says.

All The Right Angles

                         A few years ago, Nikki Van der Vord wanted to move. "We lived in this beautiful Colonial," she says, "but I love modern architecture, and l really wanted something more contemporary, or at least something we could make contemporary looking." Eventually, she found it: an angular 19505 A-frame ranch with an Asian feel.

                      The house had everything she desired—intriguing design, plenty of room for her family of fave, a good location in the same New York town they’d lived in for years—but it also needed an overhaul, beginning with the kitchen. "The previous owners, they were big entertainers," Nikki says. “But I don’t think they did much cooking."

                       The problem, Nikki says, was the home’s floor plan. The front of the house featured a beautiful space with big windows and a vaulted ceiling, but it was all taken up by a huge dining room. The adjacent kitchen lacked pizzazz, and that was a problem. "I spend a lot of time cooking, so it was really important to me to have a fantastic, state-of- the—art kitchen," Nikki says.

                       So with the help of architect Rosamund Young, the rooms switched places. The relocated kitchen, designed by Mel Elion of Bilotta Kitchens in Mama- roneck, New York, is long and tall, with the cook- top at one end, a breakfast area at the other, and a soaring ceiling in between. And yet it doesn’t feel daunting. In fact, it feels very comfortable, Nikki says. Two walls of windows make the space seem larger than it really is.

                     






  On one long exterior wall of the kitchen, opposite a fleet of hardworking appliances, sliding glass doors bring the outdoors in, effectively widening the space while offering easy access to a small  Japanese-style garden and the soothing sights and sounds of its pond and trickling fountain. Above the range, at the front of the space, is a triangular bank of sky-high windows, with the treetops they frame throwing splashes of green on the room’s neutral tones.
                       Everywhere, notes Elion, materials mix-walnut and marble, stainless steel and stone. And every- where, she says, geometry rules: in the play on proportions found in the cabinets; in the vertical columns that break the long wall; in the streamlined efficiency of the faucets and stools and overhead lights. "The room is modern , but it also has an earthiness to it," Elion says. "There are lots of luxurious features, but everything is functional."
                        Function, says Nikki, was key from the start, as she knew all along that this kitchen would be well- used. And so there’s plenty of storage ("I have so many gadgets, and I don't like seeing them all over the place"), abundant counter space ("my son does his homework in here while I'm cooking"), and all the amenities an avid chef could ask for ("I love the built-in coffeemaker"). Really, says Nikki, she lives here. "Take all the other rooms and leave me the kitchen. I’ll be fine." 

A storage wail near the breakfast area includes tambour doors that can be pulled down for a clean and modern look. A stainless-steel countertop separates the TV. microwave, and coffeemaker from the drawers and wine fridge below.

Homeowner Nikki Van der Vord loves the side·by·side ovens. "I like how they‘re at face level." she says. “I use them all the time." A warming drawer is hidden below. while the lift up cabinets above offer deep storage for cooking essentials. 

Just beyond the breakfast area. with its tulip table and Bertoia chairs, sliding glass doors access the koi garden. While the room has plenty of windows, lighting design was important, as large trees limit natural light.