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Every surface and cabinet has
been carefully deployed in this
aesthetically pleasing, functional
kitchen by designer Sarah Robertson,
of Studio Dearborn. The kitchen has
a rich materiality, with touches of
brass seen in the tapware, cabinet
handles, latches, light fittings and
cabinet grills. Metal laminate faces
on the fridge and oven connect with
the metal on the stools, helping give
the design the light-industrial accent
that the owner/designer wanted
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What does luxurious imply when referencing
a kitchen? Beautiful, tactile surfaces? Abundant
natural light? Great work triangles and plenty
of custom storage? This kitchen achieves all of
this while deftly marrying to its period home.
The reworked kitchen forms part of designer
Sarah Robertson’s own home – a 1920s Craftsman
that has been in her husband’s family since 1940.
The original kitchen had already been replaced
in the late 1980s, but the layout had been choppy,
dark and closed off from other rooms.
To provide sufficient space for an enlarged
kitchen-family living zone that also opens to the
dining area, Robertson first removed a former
maid’s room and an existing bathroom.
“We wanted the new kitchen to feel original
to this quaint home, which boasts original brass
electrical switches, hardwood floors, plaster
arches and French windows throughout,” she
says. “We also really love industrial metal fin-
ishes, and so wanted to mix blackened steel and
patinated brass into the kitchen finishes.”
The designer/homeowner also wanted the
kitchen to be flooded with light all through the
day, which required windows on all three walls.
“To achieve these things, we introduced new