USA Kitchen Trends US Kitchen Trends Vol. 30/09 | Page 85

The big
picture
Remodeling this house was
all about opening it up to the
views front and back, with a
kitchen right at the center
It makes sense to position kitchens and living
areas where you can enjoy the best view, and
this may well be on the top floor of a house.
This inner-city San Francisco house, which
has been extensively remodeled by architect
Jonathan Feldman and his team at Feldman
Architecture, already had the living areas on the
top floor. But the rooms were compartmentalized and the kitchen was a small galley area in
between a bedroom and the living room.
To create the large, contemporary living
space the new owners required, the entire floor
was gutted – along with the rest of the house.
This opened up the top floor to the spectacular
views at the front and back. As well as floor-toceiling glazing at either end, light penetrates the
kitchen in the middle of the space through large
skylights above a perforated metal ceiling.
“This screen runs across the ceiling and
wraps right down the wall beside the stairs, connecting all four stories,” Feldman says. “Light
travels through the screen not only from the
skylights, but also from windows and artificial
lighting behind the metal, including LED lighting within a reveal at the top. Additional natural
light travels down to the floor below through a
glazed floor beside the island.”
Because the owners are both serious cooks,
the kitchen is highly functional, yet it maintains an uncluttered, minimalist aesthetic. The
cabinetry, which extends beyond the kitchen
on both sides, conceals an entire wall of storage
and large amenities, including a fridge-freezer,
powder room, media center and elevator. High
cabinets can be accesse