Where Food Meets Art

Now, Art's kitchen is open and airy! The kitchen's square design allows Art to go easily from sink to refrigerator to cooktop as he whips up a meal. Among the changes:

• A smarter use of space. The renovation team tore out the corner bathroom and the radiator on the back wall and replaced them with a desk, several overhead teak cabinets, a small shelving unit, and one of Art's two large refrigerators. The team installed space-saving radiant heating beneath the floor.
• A bright idea. To take advantage of the kitchen's natural light, Fitzsimons widened the back doorway, and instead of a solid wood door, he hung a French double door with glass panels. A last-minute addition, a stylish transom, lets even more sunlight stream in from the east. Plus, recessed lights in the ceiling and under the cabinets brighten up things, "making it a kitchen you want to spend a lot of time in," Art says.
• Countertops galore. At Art's request, Elliott and Fitzsimons installed Carrera marble countertops along every wall. "When you're cooking, the greatest luxury is to have plenty of counter space," Art says. Also, an 11 1/2-inch sink—more than three inches deeper than the standard model—provides plenty of room for cleaning the produce Art buys at the farmers' market.

Plus, Art installed two Viking Range refrigerators—for his professional use and for his and Jesús' everyday groceries—that match the new cabinets from Varenna Poliform, giving the kitchen its unified look.