Restoration Recipes

ARTS & CRAFTS AFFAIR

The counter/bar defining one side of the kitchen is akin to Arts & Crafts era colonnades and similarly detailed with a mock ceiling beam.

Trained as a chef, and considering a part-time catering business, Carolyn White knew what she wanted: a professional-level kitchen that would also be comfortable and fitting for an old house. With clear, precise requirements in mind, she worked with Mark Alan Hewitt AIA of Bernardsville, New Jersey, to create an Arts & Crafts inspired kitchen that Hewitt describes as “a terrific architect-client story.” Without the aid of a kitchen design consultant, White took the rectangle of the space and laid out the location of all the appliances. “When it came to specifics,” notes Hewitt, “Carolyn had it all planned, like a restaurant expert, down to the dimensions for storage of pots and utensils—very straightforward.”

Straightforward was indeed the guiding theme. The space is basic—a four-sided room—and the scheme to-the-point. One whole wall is devoted to storage, another carries the refrigerator plus some food prep area, and the third backs up the range and sink. The fourth “wall” is actually the open end of the kitchen, which is defined by a counter/bar and dedicated to meals ready to be served in the porch area just beyond. “It’s just a big kitchen,” notes Hewitt, “not a family room or anything tricky, but it’s also fun to eat in.” That took care of the mechanics, but what about the aesthetics? Fortunately, the historic design direction was equally as clear. Carolyn and husband Peter (an artist and advertising creative director) are both aficionados of Arts & Crafts furnishings and buildings. While their 1916 suburban New Jersey house shows only a few Arts & Crafts details, and scant more influence from the Colonial Revival movement, after much discussion both architect and clients agreed there was enough evidence to “push one idiom over the other” in the design of the kitchen.

Designing the cabinetwork is where Hewitt and colleague Jerry Bruno made their mark. The cherry cabinets faithfully follow the “straight-line” detailing of Arts & Crafts millwork, employing the characteristic flat panels for doors and squared-off, unmoulded edges for frames. On closer inspection, however, there are subtle details and quotes from other sources that surprise the eye. Primary posts and “beams” are secured with decorative wood pins. Brass pull hardware—indeed any drawer metal—is eschewed for custom wood handles. And under the cantilevered counter of the center island are support brackets evoking those in the fabled Gamble House. “A good architect is only part of the equation,” cautions Hewitt, “you also have to have a good cabinetmaker,” and he gives high marks to subcontractor Chuck Bischoff of Bischoff Cabinetmaking. The results certainly help fulfill the simple, but high-quality design goals of the project to their fullest.