Kitchen Tour: Blended Style for a Designer and a Chef
He likes minimalism; she likes lots of stylish touches. Here’s how they compromised to arrive at a stunning design
Vanessa DeLeon is an interior designer who has designed many restaurants; her husband, Bobby Bournias, is a chef and restaurateur – and both of them are TV personalities in their respective fields. So DeLeon knew the pressure was on to make the kitchen in their Edgewater, New Jersey, townhouse special. “We started with the kitchen design first and then spread out to the rest of the house,” she says. The traditional-meets-modern look rendered in copper, matt black and a gorgeous quartz sets the tone for the home shared by the couple, young son Telly and two dogs.
Layout and Style
Typical of a townhouse, the home’s layout is long and narrow. The kitchen is truly the heart of the space, with a living room and dining room off one end and a family room off the other. This meant the spaces needed to be cohesive. This is the view upon entering the home after ascending from the garage below.
DeLeon used many custom elements to suit the couple’s style and how they live. One clever feature is the 20-inch-high block at the base of the island. When Telly is big enough to help with cooking prep and baking, he and other kids will be able to stand on it – much safer than perching on counter stools. DeLeon is petite and appreciates how it works for her height – it’s more ergonomic for her to place and unload groceries and other bags here than on the countertop. Visitors can set their purses and other bags on the block rather than dirtying up the countertops with them. And when the couple have big groups over, it serves as extra seating.
The clean lines and chunky forms of the island and the acrylic-based counter stools suit Bournias’ more minimalist tastes, while finishes like the Brittanicca Gold quartz from Cambria, chevron porcelain tile flooring and copper hardware and vent hood suit DeLeon’s. The showpiece of the room is the cocoa-coloured La Cornue range. DeLeon painted the block to match it and chose a quartz for the backsplash and counters to pick up on the cocoa hue.
Matt black taps: Brizo
Typical of a townhouse, the home’s layout is long and narrow. The kitchen is truly the heart of the space, with a living room and dining room off one end and a family room off the other. This meant the spaces needed to be cohesive. This is the view upon entering the home after ascending from the garage below.
DeLeon used many custom elements to suit the couple’s style and how they live. One clever feature is the 20-inch-high block at the base of the island. When Telly is big enough to help with cooking prep and baking, he and other kids will be able to stand on it – much safer than perching on counter stools. DeLeon is petite and appreciates how it works for her height – it’s more ergonomic for her to place and unload groceries and other bags here than on the countertop. Visitors can set their purses and other bags on the block rather than dirtying up the countertops with them. And when the couple have big groups over, it serves as extra seating.
The clean lines and chunky forms of the island and the acrylic-based counter stools suit Bournias’ more minimalist tastes, while finishes like the Brittanicca Gold quartz from Cambria, chevron porcelain tile flooring and copper hardware and vent hood suit DeLeon’s. The showpiece of the room is the cocoa-coloured La Cornue range. DeLeon painted the block to match it and chose a quartz for the backsplash and counters to pick up on the cocoa hue.
Matt black taps: Brizo
Appliances and Cabinetry
The couple wanted the range choice to represent how significant cooking is in their lives. “The oven is really special. It’s an heirloom kind of piece,” DeLeon says. They even had a custom ID plate made for it with Bournias’ name and the year it was built.
Together with the copper-coloured hood, the cooker makes a stunning focal point. Continuing the same quartz from the countertops up along the backsplash adds another modern touch.
Browse more kitchen ideas
The couple wanted the range choice to represent how significant cooking is in their lives. “The oven is really special. It’s an heirloom kind of piece,” DeLeon says. They even had a custom ID plate made for it with Bournias’ name and the year it was built.
Together with the copper-coloured hood, the cooker makes a stunning focal point. Continuing the same quartz from the countertops up along the backsplash adds another modern touch.
Browse more kitchen ideas
To complement the cocoa of the range, DeLeon chose a matt black finish and copper hardware for the cabinets and refrigerator. She went with copper for its beauty and timelessness. “I didn’t want to get pigeonholed into a finish that was too trendy and would look dated in 10 years,” she says.
Integrating the True Residential fridge created a seamless, streamlined look along the back wall of the kitchen. This suits Bournias’ minimalist tendencies, while the glints of copper, including custom copper corner details on the cabinetry, make DeLeon happy.
Integrating the True Residential fridge created a seamless, streamlined look along the back wall of the kitchen. This suits Bournias’ minimalist tendencies, while the glints of copper, including custom copper corner details on the cabinetry, make DeLeon happy.
Modern Meets Traditional
The floors throughout this level look like hardwood but are actually digitally printed porcelain tile. The chevron pattern was inspired by classic Parisian apartments. However, DeLeon used wide planks to suit the long, narrow proportions of the space and to give them a more modern look.
Other elements that mix traditional and modern appear on the family’s casual eat-in table at the end of the island. The dining chairs have traditional silhouettes but are made of modern acrylic. And the round pendant lights are modern, but they have miniature classic crystal chandeliers inside.
Flooring: Soleras Avana chevron pattern, TileBar
The floors throughout this level look like hardwood but are actually digitally printed porcelain tile. The chevron pattern was inspired by classic Parisian apartments. However, DeLeon used wide planks to suit the long, narrow proportions of the space and to give them a more modern look.
Other elements that mix traditional and modern appear on the family’s casual eat-in table at the end of the island. The dining chairs have traditional silhouettes but are made of modern acrylic. And the round pendant lights are modern, but they have miniature classic crystal chandeliers inside.
Flooring: Soleras Avana chevron pattern, TileBar
Island
The designer packed lots of function into the island. It includes fridge and freezer drawers, a microwave drawer, the dishwasher, trash and recycling pullouts and storage.
The designer packed lots of function into the island. It includes fridge and freezer drawers, a microwave drawer, the dishwasher, trash and recycling pullouts and storage.
Family Room
“With the family room open to the kitchen, I knew I had to find a way to keep the space from looking chopped-up,” DeLeon says. So she extended the same cabinetry along the entire wall to serve the family room. Tall glass cabinet doors on either side of the 75-inch TV provide lighted display space for books, family photos and albums. A rolling library ladder provides access to the top cabinets.
“With the family room open to the kitchen, I knew I had to find a way to keep the space from looking chopped-up,” DeLeon says. So she extended the same cabinetry along the entire wall to serve the family room. Tall glass cabinet doors on either side of the 75-inch TV provide lighted display space for books, family photos and albums. A rolling library ladder provides access to the top cabinets.
Here’s the family room space that sits opposite the TV. Dolce and Vita’s custom doghouse matches the traditional millwork seen throughout the townhouse, while the neon artwork overhead adds an edgy touch. In the photo is Dolce, popping out to say hello.
Neon artwork: Neon Mfg.
Neon artwork: Neon Mfg.
Butler’s Pantry
Located across from the island, the entry to the butler’s pantry is open to the kitchen. But because the pantry is tucked away, DeLeon let minimalism give way to maximalism, going all out with copper-coloured finishes. She had Wilsonart fabricate cabinet fronts in a copper-coloured metal. Then she added matt black hardware, reversing the mix she used in the kitchen. The backsplash is antiqued mirror with glints of copper in it. And the countertop is a black granite with coppery flecks.
With a baby in the house, the couple have found the butler’s pantry handy as baby bottle central. And it also includes a Miele espresso and coffee machine, a wine fridge and extra storage. When they’re entertaining, baby bottle central gives way to a bar setup for adult beverages.
Located across from the island, the entry to the butler’s pantry is open to the kitchen. But because the pantry is tucked away, DeLeon let minimalism give way to maximalism, going all out with copper-coloured finishes. She had Wilsonart fabricate cabinet fronts in a copper-coloured metal. Then she added matt black hardware, reversing the mix she used in the kitchen. The backsplash is antiqued mirror with glints of copper in it. And the countertop is a black granite with coppery flecks.
With a baby in the house, the couple have found the butler’s pantry handy as baby bottle central. And it also includes a Miele espresso and coffee machine, a wine fridge and extra storage. When they’re entertaining, baby bottle central gives way to a bar setup for adult beverages.
The pantry ceiling has a surprise: a Christian Lacroix butterfly wallpaper and a fanciful light fixture. Together they bring in some of that Parisian glamour DeLeon loves.
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Tell us
What do you love about this kitchen? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
More
Find an interior designer in Singapore
Read more stories about kitchens
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Interior designer Vanessa DeLeon; her husband, chef and restaurateur Bobby Bournias; their young son, Telly; and their dogs, Dolce and Vita
Location: Edgewater, New Jersey
Size: 238 square feet (22 square meters)
Designer: Vanessa DeLeon
While DeLeon appreciates a range of beautiful finishes and classic European-influenced traditional style, her husband is more of a modern minimalist. So she mixed their styles together, taking inspiration from chic Parisian apartments that do the same.
One place where they didn’t have to compromise was working in the kitchen. “I love to come home and cook dinner, while cooking at home for my chef husband is kind of like the cobbler’s kids without shoes – it’s the last thing he wants to do after work. But he is a breakfast guy,” she says.
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