s  u  t  t  o  n    d  e  s  i  g  n  llc

kitchen for a family

To be featured in Fine Homebuilding, late 2008.

This is a recently completed project in central Austin. sutton design worked with an architecture firm's new-house plan to create an open-plan first floor living, dining, and kitchen space. This is a kitchen for a family with three young children. Multiple work zones featuring multiple counter materials allow several users to work without tripping over one another. Just visible through the archway (beyond the refrigerator in picture 5) is another work area with cabinetry and a work sink. A large open pantry under the stairs is accessed through this area.

This kitchen features a lot of soft geometry, which creates a very fluid transition from dining area to kitchen work areas. The stainless steel, teak, stone, and butcher block countertops are tailored to their tasks, and the high laptop & snack counter is a big slab of distressed tropical hardwood.

This kitchen exemplifies functionality, though it has a lot of design flourishes. The cabinet systems are relatively compact because they maximize utility -- note the lack of rails between drawers, for example. The unusual design detail in the cabinet doors is borrowed from a vernacular treatment of exterior window screens in the older sections of central Austin.