Custom MOD

Innovative updates complement original features, bringing functionality and light to this retro kitchen.

“… there was an original orange wall; I believe [it was] this exact orange because we ended up matching it. My wife really likes orange, so we painted both the living room wall as well as the entry wall orange.”

Original vaulted cedar ceilings and large expanses of windows

were just some of the impressive features that attracted Robert and Amanda Nathan to the 1950 post-and-beam home they purchased in 2000. Since then, the house has had a fairly major remodel, but the kitchen was one of the last areas they tackled.

BETTER FLOW

While they were happy with the overall kitchen footprint, the cramped layout made usability and storage difficult. “We both, in particular I, really like to cook so we needed to make sure that the kitchen itself worked well in addition to looking nice,” explains Robert. With the help of Risa Boyer, of Risa Boyer Architecture, a dream kitchen was created with functionality to equal its mod aesthetics.

The kitchen had seen previous remodels and “there was nothing original to save,” Robert says. Appliances were rearranged and a spacious island replaced an outof-place bank of cabinets to allow for better flow. “We wanted a space where people could sit around. It seems like everybody congregates in the kitchen … hence the extremely large island that we ended up with, that lets us have both the seating as well as all the storage,” says Robert.

CREATING LIGHT

Not wanting to alter the original dark wood ceilings, Robert and Risa looked for other ways to brighten up the kitchen. During a previous remodel, Robert had installed dark hardwood floors that just weren’t working or wearing well. The wood floors were recycled and replaced with poured terrazzo, which not only lightens up the room, but is also more conducive to life with Palmer, Robert and Amanda's 1-year old golden retriever. The addition of skylights over the central island also brings sunshine into the room. “It’s kind of just a big space with the living room and dining room at either end; plus, being in the Pacific Northwest, we like to have as much natural light as we can,” notes Risa.

An awkward wall between the entryway and kitchen created a dark and closed-off look to the area. “Instead of just removing the wall and walking directly into the dining room, basically we created a screen to … define the dining room space but let light come into the hallway and make a little more interest,” Risa explains. After Risa came up with a design, they worked with Andrew Mauss of Aura Cabinetry to create the custom solid walnut screen.

“We both,in particular I,really like to cook, so we needed to make sure that the kitchen itself worked well in addition to looking nice.”

Was it worth all the hard work? Robert thinks so. “As far as the result … we’re still pleased now, almost 5 years later, with how it’s wearing, how usable it is. Even cooking together is fairly easy in the space, and how we entertain works great [with] people sitting around the island watching me cook.”

TO CREATE A MORE FUNCTIONAL COOKING SPACE, THE SINK AND APPLIANCES WERE REARRANGED, AND AN EXPANSIVE ISLAND WAS INSTALLED. THE ACCENT WALL WAS MATCHED TO THE SHADE OF AN ORIGINAL ORANGE WALL IN THE HOME.

RIGHT: ONCE A COAT CLOSET, THIS WET BAR WAS CUSTOM BUILT WITH INSPIRATION FROM A GEORGE NELSON DESIGN. AMANDA WANTED TO BRING SOME COLOR TO THE AREA, SO SLIDING UPPER CABINETS IN A MOD GREEN HUE WERE ADDED. OPPOSITE: A SOLID WALL SEPARATING THE ENTRYWAY TO THE DINING ROOM WAS REPLACED BY A CUSTOM WALNUT SLATTED WALL, ADDING MORE DIMENSION AND LIGHT TO THE AREA. POURED TERRAZZO REPLACED DARK WOOD FLOORING FOR A PERIOD-APPROPRIATE LOOK THAT BRIGHTENS UP THE SPACE.

THE SPACIOUS ISLAND ALLOWS FOR COMFORTABLE COOKING AND ENTERTAINING. DRAWER PULLS WERE USED ON THIS SIDE OF THE ISLAND, WHILE TOUCH-LATCH CABINETS PROVIDE A SLEEK LOOK ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. SKYLIGHTS WERE ADDED TO BRING IN EXTRA LIGHT.