Sleek Kitchen Celebrates a Love of Entertaining

• Re-orient the kitchen to be conducive to the narrow arrangement of the row house

• Create a design that celebrates the client's love of nightlife 

• Open up the space while clearly delineating zones: kitchen, dining, bar area

When Lenny Ilkovich, who was both client and contractor on this project, bought his Washington, D.C., row house in 2005, the kitchen bisected the space, effectively cutting it in half. Ilkovich wanted an open, modern kitchen that would complement his joy of entertaining, so he contacted Richard Loosle of Kube Architecture.  

Loosle’s design called for tearing down the interior walls that defined the kitchen. In the new space, the kitchen would remain the center of the home, with a custom-designed bar at one end and a dining area at the other, the different spaces defined by use of bold materials and striking colors. 

The “apple martini” green Caesarstone island that spans the entire width of the kitchen contains the cooktop, as well as expansive space for food prep, with an oven and storage drawers underneath. One end of the island has seating for four, where guests can dine or even work—thanks to built-in electrical outlets. Both the white dropped ceiling and the kitchen flooring play a role in defining the space. Dark tile on the kitchen work area floor matches the color of the undercounter storage and creates a visual break from the light-stained wood floor that surrounds it.

Integrated strips of lighting and low-profile vents in the ceiling add to the sleek aesthetic, and colored LED lights play up the nightlife feel that Ilkovich wanted to incorporate into the design. 

The judges commented that the project shows that a great deal of attention was paid to proportion and lines. The balance of negative and positive space exemplified by the white dropped ceiling impressed the group, who thought it “really clever.” 

Countertops: Caesarstone

Kitchen cabinets: Potomac Woodwork

Kitchen plumbing fittings: Hansgrohe

Paints/stains: Sherwin-Williams

Windows: Weather Shield

Click to see the 17 other winners in the 2014 Remodeling Design Awards.