AFGE Local 607

I talked to a friend recently about the renovation she is undertaking on her new Brooklyn brownstone. She mentioned that she was gutting the kitchen and extending it a bit into the backyard. While the house itself is a classic Park Slope brownstone – soaring ceilings and original, 19^th century moldings – she is looking to jazz it up by creating a loft of the first floor by demolishing half of the second floor. In this way, she hopes to create a sleek, modern look in a classic home.

As far as the kitchen itself is concerned, she is looking at installing contemporary kitchen cabinet. NYC itself being a mix of the old and new, she thinks – and I agree – that the custom contemporary look will reflect well the city she loves so much. The cabinets are as full-featured as other cabinets – clever floating hinges and slide-away doors offer all the accessibility that one might find in the cool, new, more traditional-style cabinets – but the exteriors are either high-gloss lacquer or acrylic, or else some kind of light wood with pale glass, complete with hardware fixtures that emphasize the lines of the overall kitchen, making it a work of art in itself as well as a great working kitchen.

In addition to the contemporary look created by the cabinetry, my friend will be installing new appliances that are easily concealed: dishwasher drawers, an induction stovetop, and sleek European ovens from either Miele or Electrolux. Concrete, granite, or petrified wood flooring will complete the look. I have to say that I’m a little jealous, but then I should also be jealous that she is moving to such a mammoth of a house while I cling to my rent-controlled shoebox on 92^nd street. Some things in life aren’t fair, but I’ll make sure not to complain about it at her kitchen-christening party.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 10:11 pm and is filed under modern kitchen design new york. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will appear immediately, but I reserve the right to delete innapropriate comments.