When I was tasked with the renovations on a property that I consider to be one of the most important pieces of architecture in St. Louis, I was absolute in my intention to honor the inherent masculinity of this architectural masterpiece. The main kitchen, pantries and service rooms had been covered in layers of linoleum, tile and ill fitting cabinetry over the years. Once we pulled back each and every era, and the original lines revealed themselves, my conviction to honor the original architecture grew even stronger. We gave the kitchen details that could easily be found in a gentleman’s wardrobe; brass buttons on a finely tailored sport coat became a bank of brass wrapped drawers, the deep ebony in a black tie tuxedo became the perimeter cabinetry color, and the cuff links at the wrist of a crisp French dress shirt became the cabinetry hardware. We abandoned the idea of upper cabinetry, choosing much more functional drawers instead. Along one perimeter wall, we dressed the expanse of drawers in riveted brass, nodding to the same finish of the custom unlacquered brass range hood. We curated a collection of copper that is as beautiful as it is functional and decided to dedicate ten feet of wall space to a large part of the collection. We added a prep sink to the second island, choosing to incorporate a Spanish antique marble fish cleaning sink. With it’s long marble drain board, fresh produce prep is a dream. The huge marble block that houses the carved out sink was our lead in establishing the thickness of the butcher block that surrounds the sink.
After many years of blogging I think I can safely say this is my favourite kitchen of all time. Annie Brahler of Euro Trash has managed to raise the bar so damn high with this one. Photos: Bjorn Wallander.