Where the Wild Things Are

O, The Oprah Magazine | From the Winter 2006 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

Photograph by Boris Breuer, styling by Allison Reynolds

The apartment's front door opens directly into the kitchen, where the crisp contrast between rich black granite countertops and snowy white Ikea cabinets gives the room the formality of a proper foyer. So does the startling black-and-white Cole & Son wallpaper of a winter forest, which Jane turned into a graphic back-splash by covering it with glass.

The couple made the space appear larger than it is by hanging over-the-counter cabinets horizontally rather than vertically.

Although she lives in the takeout capital of the world, Jane believes that cooking is essential to creating a sense of home. So the kitchen's centerpiece is a brawny, 30-inch stainless-steel Viking stove and matching hood. "I wanted a gas range and an electric oven so I could cook well and bake at the same time," she says.