Midcentury U-shaped Kitchen Design Ideas
Tammara Stroud DesignIn 1949, one of mid-century modern’s most famous NW architects, Paul Hayden Kirk, built this early “glass house” in Hawthorne Hills. Rather than flattening the rolling hills of the Northwest to accommodate his structures, Kirk sought to make the least impact possible on the building site by making use of it natural landscape. When we started this project, our goal was to pay attention to the original architecture--as well as designing the home around the client’s eclectic art collection and African artifacts. The home was completely gutted, since most of the home is glass, hardly any exterior walls remained. We kept the basic footprint of the home the same—opening the space between the kitchen and living room. The horizontal grain matched walnut cabinets creates a natural continuous movement. The sleek lines of the Fleetwood windows surrounding the home allow for the landscape and interior to seamlessly intertwine. In our effort to preserve as much of the design as possible, the original fireplace remains in the home and we made sure to work with the natural lines originally designed by Kirk.
Dutton Architects Inc.A modern mid-century house in the Los Feliz neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills, this was an extensive renovation. The house was brought down to its studs, new foundations poured, and many walls and rooms relocated and resized. The aim was to improve the flow through the house, to make if feel more open and light, and connected to the outside, both literally through a new stair leading to exterior sliding doors, and through new windows along the back that open up to canyon views. photos by Undine Prohl
Kelly Ann PhotographyBeautiful kitchen remodel in a 1950's mis century modern home in Yellow Springs Ohio The Teal accent tile really sets off the bright orange range hood and stove.
Photo Credit, Kelly Settle Kelly Ann Photography
Mountainwood HomesThe open concept kitchen creates a perfect flow throughout the main living space, connecting all guests in one space.
SARA VANDERSTELT with Creative KitchensMid Century Dream
Welborn Forest Cabinetry
Avenue Slab Door Style
Cherry in Wheat / Natural Stain
HARDWARE : Chrome Finger Pulls
COUNTERTOPS
KITCHEN : Blanco Aspen Quartz Coutnertops
BUILDER : D&M Design Company
Kate Roos Design LLCTransitioning to a range top created an opportunity to store pots and pans directly below.
Normandy RemodelingThis mid-century modern home celebrates the beauty of nature, and this newly restored kitchen embraces the home's roots with materials to match.
Walnut cabinets with a slab front in a natural finish complement the rest of the home's paneling beautifully. A thick quartzite countertop on the island, and the same stone for the perimeter countertops and backsplash feature an elegant veining. The natural light and large windows above the sink further connect this kitchen to the outdoors, making it a true celebration of nature.\
Susan Yeley HomesNearly two decades ago now, Susan and her husband put a letter in the mailbox of this eastside home: "If you have any interest in selling, please reach out." But really, who would give up a Flansburgh House?
Fast forward to 2020, when the house went on the market! By then it was clear that three children and a busy home design studio couldn't be crammed into this efficient footprint. But what's second best to moving into your dream home? Being asked to redesign the functional core for the family that was.
In this classic Flansburgh layout, all the rooms align tidily in a square around a central hall and open air atrium. As such, all the spaces are both connected to one another and also private; and all allow for visual access to the outdoors in two directions—toward the atrium and toward the exterior. All except, in this case, the utilitarian galley kitchen. That space, oft-relegated to second class in midcentury architecture, got the shaft, with narrow doorways on two ends and no good visual access to the atrium or the outside. Who spends time in the kitchen anyway?
As is often the case with even the very best midcentury architecture, the kitchen at the Flansburgh House needed to be modernized; appliances and cabinetry have come a long way since 1970, but our culture has evolved too, becoming more casual and open in ways we at SYH believe are here to stay. People (gasp!) do spend time—lots of time!—in their kitchens! Nonetheless, our goal was to make this kitchen look as if it had been designed this way by Earl Flansburgh himself.
The house came to us full of bold, bright color. We edited out some of it (along with the walls it was on) but kept and built upon the stunning red, orange and yellow closet doors in the family room adjacent to the kitchen. That pop was balanced by a few colorful midcentury pieces that our clients already owned, and the stunning light and verdant green coming in from both the atrium and the perimeter of the house, not to mention the many skylights. Thus, the rest of the space just needed to quiet down and be a beautiful, if neutral, foil. White terrazzo tile grounds custom plywood and black cabinetry, offset by a half wall that offers both camouflage for the cooking mess and also storage below, hidden behind seamless oak tambour.
Contractor: Rusty Peterson
Cabinetry: Stoll's Woodworking
Photographer: Sarah Shields
Midcentury U-shaped Kitchen Design Ideas
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