Kitchen of the Week: Art Gallery as Kitchen in Montreal

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Most clients have the same general priorities when remodeling: more storage, bulletproof surfaces, ample countertop prep space. But for a couple commissioning a nontraditional kitchen in Montreal, the ask was different: Space for their artwork was priority number one, along with a mandate to visually bring the outdoors in.

To make it happen, they turned to Cuisines Steam, a local kitchen design company founded in 2002 (and named for the condensation that forms on kitchen windows during cooking). According to lead designer Patrizia Giacomini, her clients “asked for a ‘non-kitchen kitchen.'” The pair of Montreal artists “didn’t want the room to feel like a kitchen, but rather a sleek, gallery-type space where they could display artifacts and objects they treasure.” The result is a streamlined, eat-in space in black and white, with accents in walnut and local limestone. The kitchen, says Giacomini, matches her clients’ “very honed sense of aesthetics.” Let’s take a look.

Photography by Mario Dubreuil, courtesy of Cuisines Steam.

steam montreal kitchen black white modern african art 1 — Above: The central island is topped with St-Marc stone, a limestone from Quebec. The homeowners wanted natural stone countertops “and fell in love with the gray color and natural feel” of St-Marc. They used it on the floor, cut into large-format square tiles. Its prominence in the kitchen “set the tone for the choice of the rest of the materials,” said Giacomini.

The designer added illuminated nooks of painted metal specifically to display artwork, which the clients collected on travels throughout Asia and Africa.

steam montreal kitchen black white modern african art 5 — Above: The kitchen island is at table height—30 inches tall—so it functions as both an eat-in dining table and a prep surface. “One can be sitting at it and reading the newspaper, writing a note, or prepping for the meal,” Giacomini says. The trio of pendant lights above the dining section is a custom design.

A wall of black-painted metal shelving holds art objects and design books. Instead of pots and pans, a collection of masks is displayed on a walnut shelf beneath the kitchen island.

steam montreal kitchen black white modern african art 3 — Above: The oven and induction stove are by Bosch; the latter has an automated downdraft vent installed at the back. The black countertops sit at counter height—36 inches—and are made of 3/4-inch-thick Dekton solid surface.

A kitchen towel made from an African textile hangs from the oven handle.

steam montreal kitchen black white modern african art 4 — Above: The homeowners are avid travelers and collect artwork while abroad. “There is a story that goes along with each piece,” says the designer.

steam montreal kitchen black white modern african art 2 — Above: Cuisines Steam designed a table to match the kitchen island on the other side of the full-height window. “There is an illusion that the table continues outdoors,” said Giacomini. “One can sit inside by the window, working, and feel as though they are outside.”

For more dark kitchens, see:

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