WESTWOOD KITCHEN

Cincinnati, Ohio | 2006

• Cincinnati Magazine 3rd Annual Interior Design Awards - Design Winner, 2005

The kitchen is part of an ongoing renovation of an existing mid-century home in the Midwest. All work was designed by the architect and constructed by the architect with teams composed of paid architecture co-op students.

The original kitchen configuration was small and compartmentalized, with an attached laundry room at the corner of the house. The new design eliminated all of the partitions in the space, allowing for a clean and open kitchen that exploited the existing band of jalousie windows that wrapped the corner of the house. The owner’s interest in Shaker architecture and the notion of “everything in its place” contributed to the project's minimalist storage solutions and clean lines.

Custom-colored, back-painted glass sliding panels conceal drawer units, storage cabinets, and the dishwasher. Custom aluminum plate sliding pantry and closet doors line the North side of the space, while the existing wall of windows- re-clad with aluminum to provide a continuous backsplash surface- defines the South and East walls. A hand-oxidized steel display box with perforated and oxidized steel sliding doors provides translucent, backlit storage for glasses and dishes. An integrated seating

area defines the opposite end of the room. A new floor, comprised of 2’ x 4’ cement fiberboard panels, was installed to replace an existing vinyl floor. A large, floating island workspace with integral base lighting and hand-cast concrete countertops occupies the center of the room.