I connected with Matt after he posted on the Dwell forum in 2017. He posted a question asking about lighting possibilities in a NYC apartment with a slab ceiling. I gave him some pointed advice and options. He liked what I had to say, liked my design work, and asked me to design his apartment. While he was closing on the purchase of the apartment, I was educating him on how to save money while still maintaining the biggest design impact. Cooking and baking were high priorities and we decided to focus our energy on creating his dream kitchen.

The kitchen is open to the living room and diagonally wrapped in a three-dimensional walnut veneer. An angled sheath of wood faces the entryway; along the ceiling 2x4 wood slats widen till they reach the far end and pour down the stainless steel wall. Between the slats we solved the concrete ceiling concern with linear LED’s. We reconfigured the arrangement of appliances to make the most open yet functional layout. The range is tucked away in the corner. We moved the fridge next to a structural column so both could be clad harmoniously in the same wood veneer. We cleared the apartment of the visual barnacles of moulding and replaced the floors with wide plank white oak for a clean, clear backdrop for the kitchen.