Urban Elegance

Paulina Hospod

AhA!interiors, Richmond Hill, NY

Hospod’s clients loved the three French door openings in their brownstone apartment and wanted them to be an integral part of their new kitchen design. However, the openings, along with several other unique circumstances, made this renovation challenging. 

For starters, the original kitchen was located on the basement level, right off of the primary suite. Moving it to the first floor, where it joined the dining and living areas, allowed the designers to take advantage of those openings, which were updated with new blackened metal doors.

To maintain the function of the French door to the left of the Miele refrigerator, Hospod, who worked with Albert Rutkowski from the firm, installed a shallower base cabinet using custom AhA!nteriors cabinets with FSC-certified plywood interiors and Buster + Punch knobs and pulls. Throughout the entire kitchen, each cabinet was thoughtfully designed to maximize storage in the small footprint. For example, there are dedicated places for trays and baking sheets above the refrigerator while pull-out drawers in a narrow pantry provide easy access to the kids’ snacks. A small microwave is hidden in a tall pantry cabinet.

The face of the new island is clad with fluted walnut for added interest, and a Bosch dishwasher, Rohl Allia sink and Poetto faucet from California Faucets enhance functionality. Calacatta Corchia marble, from ABC Stone Marble, serves as the countertop surface where waterfall edges showcase the natural stone’s gray and warm-toned veins. The marble is repeated for the perimeter and backsplash behind the Bosch range and Faber exhaust hood.