Center Stage Kitchen

It's easy to be mesmerized by the latest kitchen wizardry. But even the sleekest cyber-fridge cannot substitute for a warm and inviting kitchen space -- an interior where homeowners and guests will choose to linger. Architects Ken Pursley and Ruard Veltman of Pursley Veltman Architecture in Charlotte kept this perspective in mind when remodeling the kitchen of Bobbi and Ferrell Patrick.

The couple requested an open kitchen with fluid spaces for cooking, dining, and conversation. They also wanted the room to be an extension of the rest of their house -- interiors are filled with fine antiques and an extensive art collection ranging from Picassos to rich landscapes. The two architects, who boast an equally solid grounding in interiors, grasped these concepts immediately.

Pursley and Veltman took the Patricks' cramped, overly cluttered kitchen and transformed it. While the spatial configuration of the new open-air kitchen is modern, it retains all the artwork, collections, and furniture touches that appeal to the Patricks' traditional tastes.

During the remodeling, the outside kitchen wall was bumped out 6 feet and replaced by a wall of windows. "The wall of windows is a modernistic device, but the use of double-hungs instead of plate glass keeps it in a traditional vein," explains Veltman, who was principal architect on the project. In order to escape the oppressiveness of the previous kitchen arrangement -- with its dark, ponderous cabinetry and fixtures hugging the walls -- Veltman opened up the space so that it flows into the adjoining living and dining room. He removed all upper kitchen cabinets to reduce the sense of heaviness. Walls were kept light and filled with artwork. This allows the kitchen to blend with the other rooms in the house.