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Three is usually a crowd, but in the world of kitchen cabinets, it’s the magic number—at least if you ask Patrick Maziarski, senior designer at the firm A 1000x Better. “Two elements aren’t dynamic enough and one style reads super-flat,” he says. His trio of choice for a recent kitchen renovation in Sierra Madre, California: natural wood, metal, and painted wood. The combination encompasses a glassware display, an appliance garage, and lower drawers that hide the trash bins and ice maker. “It’s just dynamic,” adds Maziarski.
For nearly three years the designer’s clients had been living with a buttery yellow, Tuscan-revival space that didn’t speak to the rest of the home’s Craftsman-inspired character. So during the overhaul Maziarski decided to bring that old-school flavor in with detailed cupboard fronts that have extra-deep panels (the rails and stiles around the center are around three-quarters of an inch deep). “The shadows hit them a little harder,” explains the designer. The rest of the character all comes from this mix:
The Wood
While traditional Craftsman kitchens are head-to-toe wood, Maziarski limited the dark-toned oak to the island, vent hood, and tall appliance garage. “I wanted it to feel like they were added-on vintage pieces,” says the designer. The nook that hides the toaster looks more like a piece of furniture than anything else, but it doesn’t fall short on function. The two lower left panels not only fold but retract inside the framing so when the homeowners want to expose the prep area, the panels aren’t in the way.
The White
Below the Silestone countertop are two small garbage bins, a pull-out for cleaning supplies, a pellet ice maker, a wine fridge, and two stacked drawers (one for bread storage and the other for silverware). “The biggest joy I had working on this kitchen was hiding all these components behind this beautiful cabinetry,” says Maziarski. The creamy toned white that ties this area in with the rest of the pantry cupboards is Farrow & Ball’s Wimborne White.
The Glass
Finally, the contemporary touch: black, steel-lined metal cabinets with glass fronts that hold serveware so the nook can be used as a makeshift bar. Good things come in threes.
Photography by Virtually Here Studios; Styling by Ethan Kotch .
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