Seattle Urban Modern Cottage Kitchen

Her contemporary Seattle features a limitless sky and water view. The view inside Leslie’s kitchen was a little different. “Our kitchen was very dated and in need of renovation,” she says. Her 1974 contemporary home is perched on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound, but her dark, cramped kitchen didn’t take advantage of the stellar views. For Leslie and her husband, Peter, the kitchen only allowed one person at a time to cook. This was not like Leslie’s charming cottage. She longed for the welcoming, light filled, open space of her cottage kitchen. But how to bring that feel to a mid-70’s contemporary, especially one that allowed no room for expansion? For Seattle Neil Kelly Design Consultant, Diane Forman, the goal was simple. “How do I translate the crisp, clean, cheering feeling of a Victorian cottage kitchen to a contemporary space?” Diane needed some extra space, and what she found wasn’t much. She found 12 inches of space that was available without infringing on the dining room window nearest the existing kitchen. “The impact of that additional 12 inches was immense in that it opened up storage solutions not previously conceivable,” Diane says. “It made it possible for two people to comfortably occupy and move within that space. Just one foot, that’s all it took,” she says. As their current locations and sizes took full advantage of the view, it made no sense to move the windows, but she still needed to “lighten up” the dark kitchen. “I needed to create a joyously simple, very traditional color palette for a sophisticated contemporary setting,” Diane says. “And I replaced the ubiquitous 1970’s fluorescent light boxes with recessed can lighting, under cabinet task lighting, and some beautiful hand-blown pendant lights placed above the peninsula.” But there was one more hurdle to overcome: Storage. Diane needed to create storage for dishes, pans, spices, wine, trays, cookbooks, small appliances and recycling. And she also had to make space for her client’s crystal collection. “Relocated the display cabinet and adding a new gently curved eating bar accommodates seating for four without intruding on the existing window nearest the kitchen”, Diane says. There are multiple details that add up to a distinctly modern feeling and optimism to the space. And in the long run Leslie and Peter have a kitchen that matches their view. “Diane and I were trying to find a transitional style that would be cottage-like, and also urban modern,” says Leslie. “I think she did a very good job.”