Candice Olson: David’s Fashion Forward Kitchen
Posted by: Candice Olson
05.01.2015
David’s life is all about style, fashion and beauty. He owns an agency that represents fashion designers, hair and make-up artists and other talent. But when he’s not busy jetting around the world to dress the rich and famous, he can be found at home planning his next big dinner party.
He recently purchased a turn-of-the-century farmhouse in the heart of the city, and renovated most of the main floor with his terrific sense of style. But, all the rooms led to the busiest and most dysfunctional room in the home – a dated, 80’s-style kitchen that had broken cabinets, old appliances and a bathroom that opened up to the cooking area. Not very stylish!
Now saying that David LOVES to cook and entertain is an understatement, and he longed for a beautiful and functional kitchen where he could flaunt his stuff! He also needed the space to serve as a home office and casual meeting area. The problem was that he didn’t know how to make it all happen. In a world of ‘dress to impress,’ this space made a tragic first impression, so I called in my own stylish crew and geared up to give him a fabulous kitchen to match his fabulous lifestyle.
We started by making the layout of the space much more functional and appealing by reconfiguring the entrance to the bathroom so that it was accessible from the hallway. After that, anything installed before Ronald Regan was in office was removed so that we could start fresh, first with the installation of a heated travertine floor and new French doors leading to David’s gorgeous patio.
I wanted the kitchen to marry the traditional character of the home with the contemporary nature of David’s lifestyle and be a perfect blend of function and fashion. Thermador provides versatile design lines in cooking and refrigeration appliances that work effortlessly in today’s kitchens, and are built for a complete culinary experience—an obvious choice for this project.
The focal point in this kitchen is a Thermador 48” Pro Harmony® Range. This range boasts six Thermador Star® burners, two ovens and a griddle and is a dream appliance for real cooks – David speaks about his range as if it were a luxury sports car! To keep the focus on this incredible range, an elegant custom hood conceals a high-capacity Professional® Series ventilation insert.
Conveniently located and accessible from both the kitchen and the adjoining living room is a bar area fully equipped with a Thermador Freedom® Collection Wine Preservation Column, which offers two independent wine zones to preserve whites and reds at their own appropriate temperatures, and a secondary Thermador dishwasher used exclusively for stemware. To keep the look unified and uninterrupted, the wine column is flanked by a Thermador Built-in Fully Automatic Coffee Machine, microwave oven and warming drawer.
Although David loves to cook, quite often he has his parties catered. The storage capacity and features of the Thermador Freedom® Collection Fresh Food and Freezer Columns (about 60” here!) is perfect for such events, the cherry on top for a fully personalized kitchen design that truly revolves around David’s unique needs.
Contrasting the cream colored perimeter is a dark wood island with vanilla quartz counters. The ample island features lots of seating for casual get-togethers as well as a recycling center, the primary Thermador dishwasher in David’s kitchen, and a large industrial-style sink. Two crystal chandeliers hung above the island add the perfect dose of elegance and glamour.
David’s office is it the first thing you see when entering the kitchen and it needed to have “wow” factor. Flocked, foil-backed, medallion print wallpaper was the solution, adding a fashion forward element to a traditional motif. It’s the finishing touch on a chic kitchen space where David now cooks, eats, works and entertains in style!