Taking down walls and removing low-hanging archways were the first orders of business when designer Christopher Peacock renovated the kitchen of a 1929 suburban Chicago house for the 2015 Lake Forest Showhouse and Gardens. “Originally, there was an alcove with a big arch hiding a window,” he says. “It was a beautiful window, and yet you couldn’t see it. It was a missed opportunity.” Removing walls and doors and enlarging doorways transformed the maze of rooms into one 16x22-foot light-filled space befitting today’s kitchen-centric families. “We removed the big archway on the alcove by the kitchen sink, and immediately that brought all this light into the space,” Peacock says. An awkward niche to the right of the sink was converted into a handy storage spot to slide in countertop appliances such as a toaster and stand mixer. “I really tried to frame the window and make it the feature,” the designer says. “Then I introduced the ash on the vertical slide-in trays and drawer fronts. That connects the two sides of the room.” The pro-style pull-down faucet is from Rohl’s Modern Architectural Series. Countertops are Caesarstone’s “Calacatta Nuvo” quartz. “It’s by the sink and one of the dishwashers so you can wash the dishes and easily put them away. It becomes a cleanup area that is also very pretty,” Peacock says. Although the designer updated the floor plan, he remained true to the 1920s and ’30s feel of the house, furnishing it with traditional raised-panel-style cabinets in taupe-painted and natural-ash finishes. “I love white kitchens, but I wanted to get away from that and use this beautiful color,” he says. “This becomes a fresh interpretation of a traditional cabinet.” Peacock introduced warm satin-brass hardware on the cabinets with stylized bin pulls and round knobs mounted on square escutcheons. The light above the island—a modern take on a traditional billiard-table pendant—sports a brass finish too. “It all has to work together, and the one thing that connects everything here is the brass hardware,” Peacock explains. Dried beans and grains stored in glass jars bring just a hint of color to the white range backsplash. A mix of painted and stained finishes gives the cabinet furniture styling. Two refrigerators with lower freezers (at left) are integrated into the cabinetry and flank the doorway to the breakfast room.
