Kitchen of the Week: Seeking Balance in Virginia

A difficult layout, an off-center window, a looming refrigerator and a weird ceiling were a few issues facing the family who wanted to update this Virginia kitchen. The solution was to introduce a sense of balance and employ a few design tricks to unify the zones, says interior designer Lauren Levant Bland. Her fixes included a more neutral, richer palette and a smarter layout.



Kitchen at a Glance
Location: McLean, Virginia
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters)


A long peninsula dominated the left side of the old yellow and white kitchen and impeded traffic flow. Meanwhile, the large refrigerator felt too big for the space. The disjointed peaks and valleys of the ceiling also needed to be addressed.



AFTER: Looking at the new kitchen from the same angle, we can see how floating beams unify the ceiling lines. This feature “distracts the eye from noticing the off-center window, and it brings warmth and interest to the upper part of the room,” says Levant Bland, who worked on the project while employed at Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath. Parallel track lighting creates a harmonious feel, while the nonstructural beams make a big statement and visually widen the room.



Smaller (27-inch-wide) twin Sub-Zero units replaced the previous large refrigerator and flank the sink window. “They give the window the appearance of being centered on the wall, even though it’s not centered in the room,” Levant Bland says. Open shelves with LED downlights over the refrigerators provide storage.


The frameless maple cabinets on the sink wall are a custom soft oatmeal color that complements the natural tones of the Nacarado quartzite countertops and oak floor. Upper cabinets with glass fronts and lights inside make the sink wall feel more open and spacious.


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Kitchen of the Week: Seeking Balance in Virginia

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