This home, designed by William Bernoudy and finished in 1971, has been remodeled several times, but new owners had plans for a full renovation working with Gegg Design & Cabinetry. The original design had an indoor pool along with some unique details and features, and the kitchen was buried in an interior space with just one small window. Renovations made by previous owners removed portions of walls, but the kitchen space was still odd and disconnected. The new owner removed the pool and a remainder of the wall surrounding the kitchen, which changed everything about the space connecting it to the dining and sitting space. The designer removed an odd skylight from the ceiling, which provided an opportunity to reframe the ceiling creating a large, elevated area centered over the island. The old soffits were removed leaving the perimeter of the room at the original 8’ height. The center of the kitchen was raised to 9’ then raised again in the skylight area to a sloped ceiling at the bottom of the roof structure. The new, larger skylights flood the kitchen with natural light. The kitchen cabinets are all slab door and drawer front in a horizontal grain white oak with hand-selected veneer. Using wide flitches and laying the veneer out in a non-repeating pattern gives the look of solid wide-plank boards. The stain was custom mixed. The glass doors, hood and refrigerator panels are all made from hot rolled steel. The patina was done in multiple coats of hand-applied acids to create a varied pattern. The countertops are from Phenix Stone mined in Missouri. The kitchen is equipped with the latest and greatest in appliances in addition to storage options like pull-out spice racks, spice drawers, tray dividers and more. Once an interior space, this kitchen is now interactive with two adjacent rooms and offers views that expand the space all within the same footprint.

Why the judges love it: The amount of detail in this kitchen is incredible. The designer took such care in selecting the finish and veneer on the cabinetry. The consistent use of steel warms up the space, and even though it is a hard material it gives a softness as well. This really brought the best of Bernoudy to the 21st century.