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Kitchen of the Week: An Architect-Designer Couple’s Own Cottage Kitchen in Los Feliz

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Kitchen of the Week: An Architect-Designer Couple’s Own Cottage Kitchen in Los Feliz

July 19, 2018

The latest kitchen on our radar: a young architect/designer couple’s own remodel in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. “The attached photos are of a recently renovated kitchen in a 1938 colonial cottage,” designer Shana Sherwood wrote to us. “We were looking for more of a family home because I was pregnant, although we were not in a rush because we wanted to hold out for something special. Our criteria was a house with interesting architecture that had not been renovated, and this house exactly fit the bill.”

The historic house had good bones and plenty of charm, but was badly in need of an update—the perfect combination for Sherwood and her husband and partner, architect George Kypreos, who were eager to make it their own. “The previous owner had lived here since the 1940s and maintained the house well but never renovated. The house was a little dark and dingy, but charming. We loved all of the architectural details and knew that we could make the house really come alive with a little work,” says Sherwood.

Together, the couple designed a bright, charming kitchen with the house’s original quirks—vaulted ceilings, paneling, a tall brick fireplace—intact. Join us for a look inside.

Photography by Shade Degges, courtesy of Sherwood Kypreos.

 the finished kitchen is open and bright, thanks to some structural change 17
Above: The finished kitchen is open and bright, thanks to some structural changes: “It was originally a small galley style, but we moved a few walls and reoriented it so that it was open to the dining area,” Sherwood says.

“We wanted the house to reflect our aesthetic, but we also wanted all the renovations to still feel like they belonged in the colonial farmhouse architecture,” Sherwood explains. Before they started work, she says, “every wall that wasn’t paneled was covered in wallpaper that had been painted over. You could see each decade the house had been through expressed by the layers of wallpaper.”

For an update, the couple opted for a neutral palette that feels original. “One day I looked at my husband/business partner and said, ‘khaki-colored cabinets and black countertops,’ and that was that,” says Sherwood. The kitchen walls and ceiling are painted in Portola’s Crisp, the cabinetry in Farrow & Ball’s Stony Ground, and the base of the center island in Portola’s Obey Grey.

The couple wanted to preserve the kitchen’s lofty ceiling, but it also added a challenge: lighting. “There is no added ceiling at all in most of the house, so recessed lights were out of the question,” Sherwood says. They opted for black pendant lights from Rejuvenation, installed on an exposed conduit. The sink is Kohler and the faucet is from Waterworks (the Orleans style is similar). The linen top down/bottom up shade was custom-made by a drapery fabricator. (“It’s great if you want light but also want privacy,” Sherwood says.)

&#8\2\2\1;the brick arch under the range was one of the only elements remai 18
Above:”The brick arch under the range was one of the only elements remaining from the original kitchen that we kept and integrated into our design,” Sherwood says. “We mostly store potatoes or baskets down there. We repurposed the shelves to the side of it for cutting boards.”

The couple opted for two types of countertop: soapstone for the main portion of the countertop and the backsplash behind the range, and maple butcher block for the island (which just needs oiling every so often, they say).

the custom cabinets have v groove fronts that match the wainscoting and the ori 19
Above: The custom cabinets have V-groove fronts that match the wainscoting and the original cladding elsewhere in the house. (For more, consult The Ultimate Wood Paneling Guide.) Above the stove is a pot filler by Waterworks and a Le Creuset kettle. The toaster is Dualit’s two-slice chrome version.
&#8\2\20;the goal with the island was for it to feel more like furniture,&a 20
Above: “The goal with the island was for it to feel more like furniture,” Sherwood says; “I had designed a similar island for a client and always liked it.” The cane-seat stools are vintage, found at a flea market.

When sourcing potentially big-ticket items, the couple called on their professional connections: “The range top and ovens were salvaged by an electrician we know from a huge spec house in Orange County,” Sherwood says. “They were only very slightly used, but the whole kitchen was being redone,” allowing them to score like-new appliances for less. The cabinets above the ovens and fridge store extra cookware and “a large collection of novelty mugs.”

the kitchen now opens into a small dining room. 21
Above: The kitchen now opens into a small dining room.

The wood oven is original, with some tweaks: “It was originally designed to be an indoor barbecue, but I’ve spoken to some people who had these in their homes growing up and they all said that the house would smell like barbecue for days after using them,” Sherwood explains. “We decided to take advantage of the gas line and use it as a counter-height fireplace instead.” They admit they were hesitant about a high fireplace bu remembered one they’d seen and loved at a restaurant in St. Helena, and they haven’t had any issues.

in the dining area: a custom table (saved &#8\2\20;from a game room that wa 22
Above: In the dining area: a custom table (saved “from a game room that was being demolished,” Sherwood says) with Salt Chairs and a custom fabric light.
the relocated powder room, with oakleaf wallpaper by marthe armitage from hamil 23
Above: The relocated powder room, with Oakleaf wallpaper by Marthe Armitage from Hamilton Weston. The couple had it custom-printed in an olive green to match the wainscoting, which is painted in Portola’s Troubadour.

Like the cottage-y cladding in this kitchen? See these variations on the theme:

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Product summary  

design within reach salt chair black paint
Design Within Reach

Salt Chair

$375.00 USD from Design Within Reach

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