Once Studio Heimat met the owners of this Palo Alto, California, Colonial, it was clear that the couple was ready to shake things up and have some fun with their renovation. “They weren’t looking for a big white kitchen,” explains the firm’s co-founder Alicia Cheung. “This is a young family that loves to travel, so we were inspired by European style and incorporated pieces that feel more like furniture—including the two islands with open toe kicks.”
A new doorway and windows now physically, and visually, connects the kitchen to the adjacent sunroom while providing a natural dividing line between the prep areas for cooking and baking. In fact, one of Studio Heimat’s top priorities for this project was to accommodate the functional needs of the wife, a professional baker. “Everything has a place,” Cheung says. “A double cookie sheet fits perfectly in the refrigerator, and there’s a hidden pantry with a sink where messier baking items can be tucked away.”
As for the materials palette, the design firm and clients settled on a cool mix of white and dark-green metal perimeter cabinets, a natural oak bar area backed with an unexpected botanical wallpaper, dusty-green islands with brass inlay, and a herringbone mosaic backsplash that continues onto the wall between the kitchen and sunroom. Instead of sticking to just one hardware finish, they opted to use black metal and nickel on the perimeter and brass on the islands and lighting overhead. The result, Cheung says, is “a mix of warm and cold accents that feels interesting.”
