Urban Country

An open plan and contemporary renderings of rural design vocabularies help transition a growing family into their new home in the city.

Near Denver's Cherry Creek neighborhood, a young family who relocated from their beloved sprawling ranch in the country wanted the kitchen of their new inner city Spanish Colonial-style home to exude some of the rural charm that they'd grown to appreciate. The insurance executive and stay-at-home mother who is also an avid runner, wanted the kitchen to accommodate their three children to do crafts where mom and her full-time housekeeper cook together almost every evening, be comfortable for entertaining family, friends and neighbors, and stylish enough for business functions. "The kitchen is about transition," explains Toney. "From country quiet to urban oasis, single cook to multiple cooks, and small family to growing."

Toney's kitchen-centric arrangement encourages mingling and welcomes multiple cooks in a countrified contemporary aesthetic that's a real conversation-starter. The T-shape accommodates multiple cooks, convenient double warming drawers keep dishes hot until serving, and a spacious bar with Sub-Zero wine storage creates a staging ground for refreshment and cocktail mixing. A feature wall with Wolf double ovens, a Sub-Zero refrigerator and Sub-Zero freezer gets more wow factor from a row of square windows and glass tile above. "The appliances drove the design quite a bit, and I just kept playing off that," says Toney.

Elements that transition between country and contemporary include the soft green, brown and blue color scheme inspired by nature, a modified apron-front sink, and simple recessed panels on the island. Lyptus wood cabinets with a natural finish, frosted glass, and floors of riffed-cut oak also build up the soft, neutral palette. Nine-foot ceilings are accentuated with a custom exhaust hood in a clean, industrial profile. "There is a delicate balancing act to how many materials you can bring in," states Toney. "The art manifests in how you put them together to create something beautiful."