Stainless Steel Islands in Modern Kitchens

Typography guru Erik Spiekermann and his wife, designer Susanna Dulkinys, hate clutter. That’s why they love the super-sleek Berlin domicile they constructed to have just the right lines—and a host of energy-saving features behind the scenes. The stainless-steel Bulthaup kitchen "cost as much as a small house," said Spiekermann, though he did get a discount: Bulthaup is one of his clients.

Inspired by the client’s affinity for Donald Judd’s metal boxes and her request for a surface that could handle heavy use and abuse, Lubrano and Ciavarra wrapped the kitchen island, the counters, and the backsplash behind the Viking range and Miele hood in brushed stainless steel. The integrated shelving accommodates the resident’s expansive cookbook and tableware collection. The kitchen’s HVAC system is located in the cellar and blows through vents set into the concrete floor.

In Chicago’s Lower West Side, editorial director Chelsea Jackson and and her chef husband Arthur renovated their fourth-floor condominium to include a custom Bulthaup kitchen. "We wanted to find a kitchen island that would be light enough to make the room seem large while still standing up to heavy-duty cooking," Chelsea notes. Calls to kitchen retailers were fruitless until Arthur reached the Bulthaup showroom, where the staff suggested he come check out a floor model of the discontinued System 20 kitchen. The stainless steel island, with its precise profile and gas cooktop, was exactly what the couple was after, and they bought it on the spot. A full Bulthaup kitchen—completed with components from the B3 range—would soon become the centerpiece of their new home.

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