Where the Living is Easy

Though the house had been the ideal rental, it was not yet the ideal home. "I'm a purist and a perfectionist," explains Katleen, who embarked on a remodel from Europe, where she was also decorating her family's London home (while holding down a job and raising a young child, with another one on the way). Being far more exacting than most amateurs (much less amateurs working from thousands of miles away), she enlisted New York designer Felicitas Oefelein to assist her with the details that could only be handled on-site.

The Van Roost's kitchen is equipped with a Viking stove, a Sub-Zero fridge, and Artemide light fixtures. An island loaded with drawers eliminates the need for overhead cabinets, making minimalism possible in the kitchen.