Traditional Values

In Kansas, a hard-working design is inspired by a high-energy family with four active teenagers.

Cooking and fitness go hand in hand for the Reuter family in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park. Maureen enjoys tennis and she and Greg have four teenage sons who participate in lots of sports. The whole family is constantly on the go, and they love to entertain at home and cook for their guests. Their home was built in the 1980s and employs traditional styling with a subtle Arts and Crafts influence. The home and its wooded lot with a creek below still suited them, but the kitchen was ripe for a remodel. They turned to Katie Ott of Kitchen Design Studio: Kansas City to add storage space, bring in more light and create more work space so that the couple who rarely dine out could cook together more comfortably.

Ott removed a wall to the sunroom and opened up that entire space, which flooded the space with light and capitalized on the great backyard views. She added a new pantry with roll-outs for mixers and other appliances to the left of the Sub-Zero integrated refrigerator concealed behind knotty alder paneling. The Wolf 48" range was selected for its flexibility including two ovens, six burners and a griddle for pancakes. An undercounter Sub-Zero lets the boys grab a beverage or make a sandwich while they do their homework at the lyptus-wood island, and a Wolf warming drawer keeps breads, appetizers, soups, sauces and entrees from cooling down before meals are served.

Decorative beams, columns, coffered ceilings and other architectural details marry the space with the rest of the home, and details including seeded glass, oil-rubbed bronze pulls, oak floors and a hand-painted tile mosaic backsplash all bring their own Arts and Crafts charm into the mix.