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The chef's kitchen.

Surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides, the material palette for the unit includes contemporary industrial touches such as iron, glass, and wood.

The footprint of the home was configured to accommodate all of the existing trees without risking damage to their roots. An exception was made for a tree which sat in the middle of the property which was showing signs of decay. A dense Canadian Maple, the tree was milled and repurposed as the central island/dining room table—also built by Duerksen himself—and is now located only 10 feet from its original location.

Designer Bryan Boyer and lawyer Laura Lewis bought their townhouse in Lafayette Park in 2015, the same year the storied co-op joined the National Register of Historic Places. Their restoration included laying slate floor tiles the same size as the original linoleum squares, hanging modular Dieter Rams wall shelving, and adding appliances by Fisher & Paykel.

In the kitchen, the cabinetry is walnut veneer with a weathered finish applied by cabinetmaker David Rogers. “The process involved sanding and rubbing in stain as well as adding a clear finish,” project architect Eero Puurunen says.

Walnut and book-matched Calcutta kitchen

In the kitchen, buffed concrete floors, chrome globe lights, and a fleet of Bertoia chairs comprise a sleek backdrop for quirkier pieces like the marble-topped wooden tables from a Catholic school, snagged at a local flea market. The secret to the spare, uncluttered shelves? A dispensa, or walk-in pantry, down the hall. “We hide everything we don’t want to see,” Sticotti explains. “We don’t want to have to look at brands.”

There are precious few decorative flourishes in the house; the architects put their faith in line, form, and materials. Concrete, stainless steel, and birch were used in the kitchen, where not an inch of space goes unused.

For the kitchen, Tyler hired David Restorick, a furniture maker and friend, to build an island for storage and to wrap Ikea cabinets with oak for a customized look. He also built a staircase that doubles as display space for Tyler’s vast collection of colorful cookware by the likes of Finel, Copco, Cathrineholm, Jens Quistgaard, and Stig Lindberg.

The Felds’ new kitchen is clean, modern, and laced with industrial touches (laboratory faucets, lab glass pendant lamps designed by Sand, stainless steel appliances) while animated by materials and crafted elements that radiate warmth: fir floors unearthed from beneath two layers of linoleum; a fireclay farm sink made in England; Carrera marble counters that extend up the walls; walnut shelving; and industrial mechanisms that put the hardware on display, such as the suspended rolling blackboard that conceals the water heater.

In New York about two hours north of New York City, architecture and interiors firm BarlisWedlick created an eclectic compound designed to suit a client with an idiosyncratic wish list. In the kitchen, a custom Stickbulb LED lamp hangs above a kitchen island topped by concrete from Get Real Surfaces. The cabinets and island feature a modern version of a traditional board and batten siding that are given an even more contemporary feel with the concrete countertop.

Black and white elements intersect in this clean, modern kitchen. Often, black and white kitchens benefit from a pop of color, seen here with these bright red barstools.

“I love the house more each day,” says Tamami Sylvester of her and husband Michael's home by Sebastian Mariscal in Venice, California. The kitchen, which includes all Miele appliances, is sheathed in custom woodwork from Semihandmade. Accessories from A+R complement the Caesarstone countertops and Franke faucet. A LifeSource Water System provides filtration. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

The kitchen island is topped with a five-by-10-foot slab of Carrera marble.