Kitchens and baths: St. Louis designers' tips, remodel ideas, and looks to steal

Design STL’s annual July/August issue looks at the most important rooms in the home—kitchens and bathrooms.

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Bold & Beautiful

Designer April Jensen’s kitchen remodel proves that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to make a big impact. Although Jensen, owner of ADJ Interiors, completely changed the look of the previously beige room, she didn’t replace cabinets, backsplash, or the floor in her home kitchen. Instead, she went for a scaled-back update that was easy on the budget yet bursting with personality. By repainting the cabinets, reupholstering her family’s two favorite chairs, and adding new lighting and window treatments, she created a comfortable space that feels “bright and cheerful even on the dreariest day in winter.”—Megan Mertz

Signature Hue

Jensen and her family love their well-used Vanguard chairs and ottomans by designer Michael Weiss. They sit just outside the kitchen footprint. “We have two of them, and we fight for them,” she jokes. It was an easy decision to give the chairs—originally upholstered in black and white—new life by having them re-covered by Gomez Upholstery. Jensen chose a hot-pink fabric with a subtle herringbone pattern. “I love hot pink,” she says. “It’s kind of a signature color for me.”

Say It with Color

Jensen says she didn’t even consider other colors when it came time to paint the cabinets: She knew she would go with Alexandrite, by Sherwin-Williams. “I wanted to show an example of how something very colorful could still be cohesive and cozy and feel great,” she says. “It still functions; it just has a very bold presence—kind of like our family.”

Retro Vibe

Jensen found this Hudson Valley Lighting chandelier at Metro Lighting to hang above the kitchen table. “It just has a really fun retro Midcentury vibe,” she says, “but it’s eclectic enough that you can blend it with a lot of different styles.”

Design Past

Even though it looks like a totally different kitchen, Jensen preserved a few elements of the room’s past design, including the raw cedar plank vent hood and bookshelf. She now displays some of her favorite items on the shelf, including her most-used cookbooks, record albums, and milk glass pieces.

Some Sunshine

Because the kitchen faces west and gets a lot of direct sunlight, Jensen opted for powered Roman shades in a yellow Schumacher toile that can be easily lowered when she’s cooking. “The yellow is like a ray of sunshine. That’s also a color that pops throughout my main floor.”

Perfectly Irregular

“For me, it’s uncomfortable for design to be too perfect,” Jensen says. That’s why she still loves the existing white subway tile backsplash, which is laid in a herringbone pattern over the range and in a brick pattern everywhere else. The tiles are handmade, so each one is a little bit different. “I love the irregularity of it,” she continues. “It looks very authentic. It’s not crisp and clean.”

Slightly Industrial

Designer Jessie Miller, of Jessie D. Miller Interior Design, spent nearly three years working on a new home in Edwardsville. It was a huge undertaking. The open-concept kitchen alone is almost 1,000 square feet. “With new construction, it’s important for it to feel aged, to feel like it’s been collected over time,” Miller says. “I wanted to create a vintage, slightly industrial feel.” To turn her vision into reality—she was aiming for an Old World factory look—she layered whites for depth, added woodgrain accents throughout, and selected icebox-style handles for the cabinetry. “With such a massive scale, I needed to find a way to make it a more approachable space to use on a daily basis,” she says. —Megan Mertz

Big Island

Like everything else in the kitchen, the island is enormous. It’s 11.5 feet long and nearly 4 feet wide. Miller chose the butcher block ends to add variety and functionality to the expanse of white marble countertops. She enlisted Christopher Peacock Cabinetry to create the cabinets and hardware. It was “a game-day decision” to decide to paint the island the same olive green as the butler’s pantry, she says: “I felt like I needed a dark color to anchor that massive island.”

Two Pendants

The light fixtures hanging above the island were fabricated by Los Angeles–based lighting company Paul Ferrante with design input from Miller. The pendants, custom made in heavy iron, were inspired by vintage factory pendants that the designer noticed in a magazine.

Barrel Vault

Miller knew that the cavernous space called for a unique look rather than the typical coffered ceilings. The barrel vault, however, presented design challenges—for instance, how would the cabinetry meet the ceiling? “With the angle, we had to retrofit the cabinets on site,” she says, “but I love to try new things, and I think it turned out great.”

Subway Backsplash

The clients originally wanted an all-white kitchen, but Miller soon realized that the space would require layering of materials, colors, and textures to impart warmth. One of her first decisions was to go with handmade tiles from Sunderlands. Each tile is a faintly different shade of white. A mason created slightly imperfect grout lines to build age and heritage into the new home.

Window Frame

The homeowners requested the statement arched window, allowing them expansive views onto their property. “They wanted it to be the focal point of the kitchen, so we took that idea and ran with it,” Miller says. She hired Kirkwood Stair & Millwork to help build and install the custom three-piece stunner. The center window is 8 feet tall in the middle, and together the three windows stretch about 11 feet across.

The Extras

“The butler’s pantry can function as an entire kitchen,” says Miller. The space features a coffee bar, as well as its own refrigerator, oven, and microwave. She chose to paint the cabinets Aegean Olive, by Benjamin Moore: “It’s a green color, but it has a lot of strange brown undertones and also some gray. I love to work with colors that can reflect cool and warm. They just add an interesting sense of age to a space.”

Say It With Sage

While many homeowners still opt for all-white kitchens, one Kirkwood resident decided to buck that trend. Wendy Kuhn, lead designer at Karr Bick Kitchen & Bath, helped transform the appearance and functionality of the space. In her design, the refrigerator was moved into what had been the breakfast nook, and the space was turned into a butler’s pantry. This provided more room for counter space in the kitchen and allowed an awkwardly placed bathroom door to be shifted. The result is an airy kitchen accented with brushed brass hardware and beautiful hardwood floors. “Pulling that color in better reflected the feel of the rest of the house and [the homeowner’s] personality,” says Kuhn. —Megan Mertz

Cabinet Color

“We do a lot of research and pay attention to trends. We knew that color was something that was coming in after so many years of people wanting all-white kitchens,” Kuhn says. She and the homeowner were drawn to a misty green shade for the cabinets, and they looked at several shades before deciding on Farrow & Ball’s Mizzle. “Going with that light-green color tied back to the rest of the house,” Kuhn says, “and it was just a more interesting color choice.”

Counter Views

The team elected to go with white quartz for the countertops. The homeowner appreciated both the material’s brightness and its functionality. “She wanted that look of white marble,” Kuhn says, “but of course with small children she didn’t want the maintenance of marble.”

Makeover Move

An island doesn’t always need to be big to be functional, and Kuhn managed to fit a 3-by-3-foot island into this tight space. One side holds the microwave drawer, and the other provides a place for the homeowner’s two children to sit. Note the island’s decorative legs. “We wanted to make it look as much like a table as we could in the middle of the room,” Kuhn says.

Modern Perch

The homeowner sourced a pair of stylish barstools that fit the needs of her children. “They’re just really simple tuck-under stools that don’t cause a lot of bulk in that tight space,” Kuhn says, “and they have that Midcentury Modern flair that goes so well with the rest of the house.”

Beautiful Details

“The backsplash is one of my favorite elements in the entire kitchen,” Kuhn says. “It’s a small detail, but I just think it really makes this space.” The tile, from Country Floors, has an interesting picket shape and a slightly undulating texture. “It’s not just your standard white subway, but it gives you that same kind of effect with a little bit more design detail to it.”

Butler’s Pantry

“Using the breakfast nook area as a butler’s pantry turned into a really cute design feature,” says Kuhn. In addition to providing ample storage, the space includes a beverage center that makes entertaining easy. Kuhn extended the same green cabinets into the pantry but incorporated glass-front upper cabinets and chose countertops of black walnut to bring in warmth.

Kitchen Confidential

Three local design pros reveal the inner workings of their dream kitchens. Interviews by Cara Downs

Janelle Helms

KARR BICK KITCHEN AND BATH

Most requested product in 2020

A complete kitchen renovation. Everyone wants to redo their space because they’ve been spending more time in it.

Accessory that adds whimsy to the kitchen

A roman shade in a fun floral or solid color. Schumacher carries great options.

Fabric you’d like to see on the kitchen chairs or banquette

Sunbrella fabrics are good because they’re so durable. I also love rattan or natural fiber for chairs and barstools.

Favorite paint color for the kitchen

We’ve been doing a lot of solid colors on cabinets, so the best backdrop is a neutral wall, such as Sherwin-Williams Drift or Mist.

Wood or tile floors?

Big, black-and-white checkerboard marble floors. Bold yet timeless.

Your best kitchen design tip

Use a professional. They’ll help you see the big picture from the start and ensure the space is cohesive.

Storage item to keep the kitchen neat and tidy

We do a lot of appliance garages to keep the toaster and mixer and coffee pot hidden—yet still easily accessible on the counter.

Your preferred oven range

Our go-to is Wolf, but BlueStar and La Cornue come in so many fun colors. They’re hard not to love.

Cabinet color you’re loving right now

Green, I’ve recently used Sherwin-Williams Jasper and Sherwin-Williams Ripe Olive. One is dark and one is light. Both are great.

Statement lighting to use above the island

Gold or brass pendants. What’s fun about island lighting is that it can be just for looks.It doesn’t need to be functional. Recessed or can lighting takes care of that.

Marci Marsh

MARCI MARSH DESIGN

Most requested product in 2020

A wine fridge followed by a built-in coffee machine from Miele.

Accessory that adds whimsy to the kitchen

Oil paintings or original art. (That includes the art your children bring home from school.)

Fabric you’d like to see on the kitchen chairs or banquette

Florentina by Raoul Textiles combined with Pierre Frey Sunrise high-performance outdoor linen.

Favorite paint color for the kitchen

I prefer light walls, especially if the cabinets have color or wood tones. [I like] Benjamin Moore China White or Sherwin-Williams Reserved White.

Wood or tile floors?

Peacock Pavers in Oyster because my dream kitchen would be on the Gulf Coast. But, in general, I like consistency and usually recommend that my clients continue with wood if it’s in adjoining rooms.

Your best kitchen design tip

I think a galley kitchen, versus an enormous open-concept space, is the most functional workspace. Personally, I’d take a galley kitchen that opens up to a large light-filled breakfast room. I don’t want to see dirty dishes when I’m enjoying company.

Storage item to keep the kitchen neat and tidy

Wide drawers close to the range and prep area to house utensils and spices.

Your preferred oven range

It depends on the budget. The key is gas and at least six burners, if you cook. ILVE Majestic emerald green and brass 9-burner range with double ovens would make a beautiful focal point.

Cabinet color you’re loving right now

Farrow and Ball Lulworth Blue No. 89

Statement lighting to use above the island

I like alternative materials. There are usually a lot of other finishes in a kitchen, so I opt for anything plaster by Julie Neill Design or papier-mâché from Stray Dog Designs.

Jessica Senne

STUDIO LARK

Most requested product in 2020

Wine storage. We’ve had the opportunity to design several wine cellars in the past couple of years. We really love digging into both the technical and aesthetic details.

Accessory that adds whimsy to the kitchen

Lighting communicates so much about our clients’ personalities.

Fabric you’d like to see on the kitchen chairs or banquette

Velvet. When it comes to textiles in the kitchen, we opt for bold solid colors rather than ornamental patterns. We also tend to specify high-performance, commercial-grade textiles for banquette seating.

Favorite paint color for the kitchen

White paint. We recommend conceiving walls as neutral backdrops that maximize natural light within a space.

Wood or tile floors?

Both, but we love Mosa porcelain tile floors. The Dutch product is slightly thicker than most tiles on the market and comes in a range of sizes, shades, and textures.

Your best kitchen design tip

Consider the appliances first, both in terms of function and aesthetics. I recommend beginning with the type and location of each appliance and developing the kitchen around these decisions.

Storage item to keep the kitchen neat and tidy

We often incorporate appliance garages for stowing countertop appliances. It’s nice to have a place to tuck away blenders, food processors, coffee grinders, and to keep these off of the countertops.

Your preferred oven range

The majority of our clients opt for Wolf.

Cabinet color you’re loving right now

We utilize a lot of slab-style, wood-veneered cabinetry with wood grain that runs continuously across the cabinetry faces. We tend towards clear-coat finishes that celebrate the natural tones of the wood.

Statement lighting to use above the island

Moooi, Foscarini, Artemide, Luceplan, to name just a few. I’ve always wanted to incorporate a Lindsey Adelman fixture into a kitchen design but haven’t yet had the opportunity. Maybe one day.

Food Reviews

Being restricted to home during the pandemic got people cooking again and supporting local restaurants by ordering from their takeout menus. Here, five St. Louisans dish on their newest discoveries for fridge and pantry. Interviews by Cara Downs

Kristin Flanery / 38 / Lake Saint Louis

I started going to the gym during the day because of my WFH schedule. One morning, Reconstruction Coffee Roasters set up a booth in the lobby. It’s my new favorite coffee. It’s a sustainable and responsible bootlegger coffee brewed in Pinckney Bend whiskey barrels. [Reconstruction is based in Villa Ridge.]

Scott Runyan / 55 / Richmond Heights

Our neighborhood was coordinating food delivery every few weeks last summer to help support local restaurants. One week we ordered Original J’s, in University City. The brisket tacos and kale salad keep us going back.

Joe Kelley / 25 / Dogtown

I started going for walks around our neighborhood. While many businesses were shut down or creating new ways to serve customers, Alibi Cookies installed The Cookie Bot in front of their retail location in Dogtown. It’s a temperature-controlled vending machine that sells fresh, warm cookies. It’s awesome.

Virginia Wilson / 38 / Ferguson

We were wanting to eat healthier during the pandemic and experimented with vegan and vegetarian eating. That led us to Pizza Head, on South Grand. They make the best vegan pizza. It’s made with cauliflower crust and cashew cheese. You would never know it’s vegan. I recommend the Deluxe.

Nicole Lander / 42 / Clayton

We tried Mac’s Local Eats’ Farm Box to support small businesses in the heart of the pandemic. One of the items in it was milk from Rolling Lawns. It’s a dairy based in Greenville, Illinois. They make the best milk. My kids love it, and I’ve since learned that they also carry it at Straub’s.

Aging in Place

Designing the kitchen and bathroom with the future in mind. By Pat Eby

As we age, our homes can feel less like a haven and more like an obstacle course: one that can lead us to injury or worse. New technology and thoughtful planning with an architect or designer, however, allows homeowners to live out their golden years safely at home. St. Louis Hills residents Steve and Judith Doss have taken the right steps to do just that.

“We took care of my parents, who adapted their home as they got older,” says Steve. “We learned from them. When we renovated our kitchen in 2013, we had our ideas together. Aging in place wasn’t talked about much then.”

Steve says the renovated kitchen includes countertops set at heights that permit seated meal preparation, a two-level dishwasher that’s easier to load and unload, and pull-out cabinet drawers: “No deep cabinets where you bend over to get things all the way in the back.

“We keep our dishes in the drawers so we’re not lifting heavy dishes over our heads,” he says. The kitchen was the second of three renovations he and his wife have carried out to help them stay in the home they love.

The Dosses’ ideas are reflective of aging-in-place suggestions made by Larry Milles, director of architecture, at Gray Design Group and Cindy Roeser, vice president of Roeser Home Remodeling.

“We do a lot of drawers in kitchens now,” says Roeser. “Most of our cabinets are done that way. We even have microwaves pull out in drawers. In the ’70s and ’80s, they were often installed above the stove. It’s easier to lift up the dishes than to carry them over your head.”

“A clear path of access throughout the kitchen is critical,” says Milles, “especially for those in wheelchairs.”

Bathrooms can present significant challenges, Milles notes: “Everyone has three things to deal with: the shower, the toilet, and grab bars.”

Both professionals say that a no-threshold shower equipped with a built-in seat, handheld water wand, good lighting, and grab bars are a must.

“As a part of our best practices, we do backing in our bathrooms so the grab bars will support 250 to 300 pounds,” Roeser says. “There are really pretty grab bars available now that don’t look so industrial.”

She also suggests a heating element above a walk-in bath: “The water’s warm when it’s filled, but while you wait for it to fill and to empty it, can get pretty cold.”

As for the toilet, both pros suggest a taller 19-inch toilet for older adults. “If we’re gutting a bathroom, we always put [an electrical] plug behind the toilet,” Roeser says. “As you age, sometimes getting clean is a problem. With a plug in the wall, you can add a washlet on your toilet.”

With their latest renovation, the addition of a front porch two years ago, the Dosses went beyond the basics of safety and ease of movement in the home they’ve lived in for more than 40 years. The porch enables them to maintain connections with neighbors and friends.

“We’re sociable people,” says Steve. “When the day comes that we can no longer travel to visit our daughter in Chicago or get out to see friends, we can sit on our porch and wave to folks.”

Art of the Kitchen and Bath

Kitchens and bathrooms have proved worthy subjects for some of the world's most beautiful works of art, including these four pieces from the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum. Here, museum curators weigh in on what theses artists conveyed. By Amy Burger

Flesh Bathroom With Yellow Light

painting on canvas with mixed-media materials

ARTIST: Jim Dine / CURATOR: Hannah Klemm, associate curator of modern and contemporary art

“Jim Dine was associated with the Pop Art movement in the 1960s and is known for merging painting and sculpture to mimic scenes of everyday life,” says Klemm. “Here, he is referencing a banal everyday bathroom, possibly his own suburban Cincinnati home, by adding real objects to the surface of this canvas. Dine often used the bathroom as a subject for his works, bringing both an ordinary and private space into high art. The fixtures in the work were specific to Dine’s time and reference ordinary America of the ’50s and early ’60s. In particular, the yellow toilet paper would have been a very recognizable reference at that time, since it was popular to buy toilet paper that matched your bathroom tile in colors such as light pink, yellow, or mint green.”

Untitled (woman in kitchen)

photograph

ARTIST: Unknown / CURATOR: Eric Lutz, associate curator of prints, drawings, and photographs

“It's likely that this image, as many others of this postwar period, was taken to show off the features of a prefabricated suburban home,” Lutz says. “We see a shiny refrigerator and stove, shelves of trophies, and a television set turned on. A more curious detail is a uniform on a coat hanger placed in the dining area, perhaps an indication of the woman’s employment. While we don’t know anything about the person who made the picture, a satisfaction in documenting her new kitchen seems to be tempered with an impression of loneliness. Somewhat unusual for this type of image, it was taken in the evening, as evidenced by the fact that all the lights are on and the woman is dressed in her nightgown."

Peasant Interior With Woman at a Well

oil on panel

ARTIST: Willem Kalf / CURATOR: Judith W. Mann, curator of European art to 1800

“This was a painting made early in Kalf’s career, and he went on to be famous for his beautiful depictions of tabletops full of imported porcelain, expensive foods, and delicate glassware,” Mann says. “In his kitchen scene, the key aspects of the kitchen—the well that provided water and the space for preparing food—are placed in the background. Instead, Kalf focused on the interesting array of textures and colors in the foreground of the picture. He revealed his fascination with painted crockery (the broken dish at the lower left), metal surfaces (the brass kettle and the pewter plate next to the cat) and the interesting forms of the root vegetables lying across the floor.”

The Bidet, monotype

ARTIST: Edgar Degas / CURATOR: Elizabeth Wyckoff, curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs

“Edgar Degas frequently depicted working women: ballet dancers, cabaret singers, and, in one concentrated group of monotypes from the late 1870s, Parisian prostitutes. Le Bidet shows a woman hovering over that quintessentially French accessory for intimate hygiene while a client can be seen through a doorway. Monotypes, which Degas called ‘drawings made with greasy ink and printed,’ are made by drawing directly on a smooth, unmarked printing plate and then printing a single impression onto paper. Because the image had to be printed before the ink dried, Degas composed his monotypes rapidly—as can be seen in the spontaneous brush marks, fingerprints, wiping, and scoring that bring this brothel interior to life.”

Vanity Project

Now more than ever, bathrooms are designed for living. by Amanda Woytus

An Instagram caption by famed interior designer Miles Redd—“I favor when bathrooms feel like rooms”—made us stop and think. The powder room in the corresponding image could only be described as sumptuous: The walls are covered in emerald silk and outlined in black grosgrain ribbon, for starters. A curtain bearing a peacock motif dresses up a window. The wood floors are painted in a black-and-white pattern “borrowed from Pauline de Rothschild.” It certainly makes a splash, but in a room where water and humidity are prevalent, the bathroom seems like the last place where one should try to make décor waves...or should you? Bathrooms, says Michael Wyrock, co-principal designer of Nistenhaus Design, are one of the first and last rooms people engage with during the day: “They tend to be one of those places people think they’re in and out of quickly. The reality is, they often spend a lot more time there than expected.” Creating a bathroom that feels like a beautifully decorated extension of the home often starts with the layout—and thinking of the footprint like that of a living room. The bathtub, shower, and other pieces are placed in ways that make them feel like art. For a bathroom in a Lafayette Square home, a Nistenhaus client requested that he be able to see the entire room, particularly a century-old fireplace, from the shower. “We basically set up the whole thing so that when he looks back, he’s looking across the bathtub over to the fireplace,” says Justin Maine, Wyrock’s co-principal at Nistenhaus. “What you’re seeing when you’re in the shower helps enhance the experience.” Such pieces as chairs, ottomans, and sofas pull double duty: They make the space look like a living area and also provide the opportunity to take a seat.

For Rebekah Moore Murphy, co-founder of Stone Hall Cabinetry, cabinetry plays a foundational role. “The bigger the bathroom, often the less concern about storage and functionality,” she says, “so you have more room to play with things like the architectural value of the space and incorporate bespoke furniture–type cabinetry. You can go heavy on the aesthetic side: Can we incorporate any mullions or mirrors? How you incorporate lighting is huge.”

Last year Murphy worked on a home in Webster Groves, transforming a second-story deck into a primary bath. Because there was a window in the middle of the two-sink vanity, Murphy chose to hang pendants rather than use can lights or sconces. “It looks so charming,” she says, “to do something like a library light in a powder room over the mirror.”

Because bathroom tile can often be cold, Wyrock and Maine make softening the room a priority. A window treatment or shower curtain (albeit a pretty, well-tailored one) does the trick. If the designers can’t work in pattern on a floor, they’ll do so in a wallcovering or window treatment. One client turned Wyrock and Maine loose in a bathroom with beautiful—but cold and utilitarian—white marble that covered the walls, three-quarters of the way up. “One of the ways we tried to balance that out is, we picked this beautiful Christian Lacroix feather-motif wallpaper,” Wyrock says. “It’s stunning but very busy. By adding something that’s highly patterned on the last quarter up to the ceiling and wrapping up onto the ceiling, it allowed us to engage that cooler element of the stone.” Nervous about adding wallpaper to a room that regularly fills with steam? As long as a professional is installing a vinyl-backed wallpaper, and the room has good ventilation, Wyrock says, the product should hold up. Don’t fear going for what you want.“If that’s an antique rug that you wouldn’t normally want to put in the bathroom because you’re nervous about it getting wet, don’t worry about it,” Wyrock says. “They’ve been around for 100 years, they’ve gone through a lot worse, and you can clean them.”

Cue the Art

Another way to make your bathroom feel like an extension of your living area is to hang a few pieces of beautiful art. Ty Norton is a third-generation professional framer. His grandparents Ruth and Cecil Norton started Norton’s Fine Art & Framing in 1949, and Ty’s been framing for a little over 25 years. (His parents, Doug and Mary Norton, work at Norton’s as well.) Design STL asked him what to consider when hanging art in your bathroom.

Don’t frame anything of value or a piece of art you can’t bear to lose in a primary bathroom. The reason? Humidity. In a bathroom with a shower that you use every day, it’s too difficult to control the humidity, which could cause water damage or get mold started growing on your art. One workaround that Norton recommends: “You could have a copy made and hang that.”

If you do choose to frame paper artwork in a primary bathroom, you’ll want to seal the framing package. Norton recommends using a glass front and a matte board to create a gap for air to circulate around the art, allowing any moisture that could get trapped to dry. “Matte boards are not just decorative,” says Norton. “They actually serve a purpose.” He advises sealing the entire framing package with a product called Marvelseal 360 to keep out moisture. Check your artwork every four months or so to make sure it’s still tightly sealed.

It’s best to select an aluminum frame, which won’t oxidize or rust over time when exposed to humidity. “That really limits your options, though,” Norton says, “so a lot of people will go with a wood.” Add a rubber bumper to the back of each of the frame’s corners to create space between the frame and the wall. This will prevent moisture from collecting where you don’t want it to.

Breakfast in Style

A breakfast room is the perfect place to explore a creative and personal design aesthetic by Amy Burger

Breakfast rooms, those cozy casual dining spaces within or adjacent to the kitchen, are not only functional but also allow for some design daring that isn’t as easy to pull off in larger, more formal areas of the home. Typically reserved for the family, the breakfast room is a great place to inject fun and personality. But, because it’s an extension of the kitchen, an aesthetic link should exist between the two spaces even as the breakfast room is allowed to show off its own identity.

“I like to be creative in the connection I make between both spaces, which can mean selecting furniture and materials that are complementary but not having to match the kitchen,” says interior designer Brett Clark of Savvy Design Group. “It’s not your formal dining room, so you have permission to be a little bit more personal with it or even quirky. That could be a breakfast table with a really interesting pedestal base or a chandelier that’s more of a surprise. I wouldn’t be afraid to go beyond your normal comfort level.”

Designer Danielle Kalish of Parklyn Interiors has a few rules for creating a cohesive flow between kitchen and breakfast room. She advises using the same countertop material in both spaces, as well as the same cabinet fronts, and selecting an overall palette that’s consistent and ties the spaces together.

When it comes to material selection, Kalish says, “I love to create a layered, lived-in look. For example, mixing a linen fabric with a soft cognac leather for your bench seat or chairs will provide a great contrast. When it comes to picking hardware, it’s a must to mix metals. If you used warm brass for the pulls or lighting in your main kitchen, don’t be afraid to use wood, black, or silver in your breakfast nook. Think of lighting as jewelry. I love a statement light over the breakfast table in addition to arm lights or library lights over your built-ins.”

Clark and Kalish agree that wallcoverings are a great way to create impact and define adjoining spaces. Clark notes that in addition to high-performance fabrics, many manufacturers make vinyl wallcoverings that mimic such natural materials as grasscloth and sisal but can be easily wiped down if spattered with food or wine. Says Kalish: “I love the idea of adding a bold wallpaper that ties in the colors from the kitchen, unique hardware/lighting, or an eclectic gallery wall with some of your favorite artwork.”