kitchen

When Nook Architects set out to renovate a 720-square-foot apartment in Barcelona's Poble Sec district, they knew they wanted to retain the space's characteristic elements—especially the original barrel-vaulted ceilings. Here, the track lighting accentuates the rhythmic curves.

"Small IKEA kitchens drive me crazy, but six kitchens' worth of IKEA cabinets can be made into something beautiful," says homeowner Andrew Dunbar. Staggered by width, the cabinets have exposed kick-plate gaps for storing CDs.

Tom Dixon pendants hang over the breakfast table.

Kitchen

Don’t skip over the layout. “The most overlooked thing in kitchen design would be space design/planning,” says Curtis Popp of Popp Littrell Architecture. “No amount of expensive materials can compensate for a lack of foresight.”

The home’s interior palette includes exposed concrete floors, reclaimed wood millwork, and wood columns sourced from a local barn.

Parota wood continues in the spacious kitchen. Marisa and Christopher found the blue tile that runs throughout the home on a trip to León, Mexico. "It called out to us," says Christopher. Festooned with small stars, its tone matches the color of the ocean perfectly.

The kitchen features custom-lacquered cabinets with white oak handles and, in lieu of upper cabinets, a wall niche to display dishes.

A picture window with a deep seat provides a place to take in the sun.

A kitchen was situated in a cozy niche off the towering great room, and outfitted with blue shaker-style cabinetry and custom tile work created by the husband and wife.

Kabn 2 interior

A walnut backsplash has integrated shelves for display. The counter is limestone.

Walls on each side of the open-concept living area are framed in full-height Ultimate windows and doors, which balance the couple’s desire for a modern aesthetic with the durability required for Maine’s extreme weather variations.

Homeowner Stephen Peck and the family Labrador, Luke, in the home’s kitchen. Throughout the interior, earthy color tones are complemented by midcentury modern details and expansive windows overlooking the landscape.

Floor Plan of Hills Beach by Woodhull

Local artist John Bisbee created a decorative screen out of nails for the end of the base cabinet. Stuart built the drawers using traditional wood-on-wood slides and proportionally spaced dovetails, which operate differently in summer and winter. “Those idiosyncrasies effect the way you interact with it,” Stuart notes. “The kitchen is experiential in that way.”

The homeowners loved the idea of bringing in warmth with wood details, so the team added a feature wall of clear cedar to anchor the utilitarian space. Hammer and Hand beautifully wrapped the pantry door in the same cedar for a uniform look. “They're such great craftspeople,” says Boyer of the contractor.