A social kitchen floor plan allows easy entertaining for a North Dallas couple. and its earthy palette is the perfect gallery for their primitive art collection. Decades ago while teaching in La Paz, Bolivia, the homeowners discovered their attraction to pre-Columbian pottery and weavings, which they continued collecting after returning to the states. Today the successful couple is involved in development and politics, and hosts a variety of social engagements at home—ditching pretense and serving familiar comfort foods like chili, slow-cooked pot roast with red wine sauce, and four-cheese macaroni with sausage. Our clients thought their tastes ran traditional until their realtor insisted they look at a new contemporary property in an older Dallas neighborhood. The home has a transitional feel, lots of natural light, and large, open plan kitchen that makes cooking a communal event.
In addition to warm cherry and maple veneer cabinets, earthy references include white terrazzo tile flooring with terra cotta accents, and honed Zimbabwe granite countertop with wire brush texture. Architectural interest is added with a dropped soffit that echoes the shapes of the cooking island and dining table below, and anchors their respective exhaust hood and lighting fixtures. Translucent and textured glass and stainless steel introduce new materials for added interest, without overwhelming the space.
