In the way the hearth historically was the center of the home, our client was very clear that the remodeling of her 41 year old cluttered, cramped and dark kitchen space was to center around a large working island. This was where she and her friends would make the holiday cookies, prepare and assemble the casseroles, even serve the wine all while socializing and keeping up with each other's lives. Concurrent to this inward focus, she also wanted to create an open and well-lit space she had always lacked with a particular emphasis on the mountain views just beyond the large California redwood tree which she and her husband had received as a Christmas present and planted themselves over 3 decades earlier.

 

Taking cues from her story, the concept was to create a large open volume that projected out toward the back yard vistas. The box-like volume would act as a large picture frame for the tree and mountain views. Within the space itself, and organized around the central island, other task areas developed for prepping, cooking, storing food, lounging and even dining.