If Cereal, the travel and style magazine, were an actual cereal, it would be an exquisitely simple concoction—the result of an around-the-world exploration of flavors and textures, arrestingly packaged in shades of pale. Aesthetics matter a lot to Rosa Park and Rich Stapleton, the publication’s founders who spend half the year on the road in search of their particular brand of minimalist cool. The success of the indie magazine has led to Cereal city guides, a consulting agency, and an about-to-launch art gallery called Francis. Rosa oversees the company’s editorial direction; Rich, an accomplished photographer, sets the visual identity; and everything they produce is quietly—and exactingly—beautiful.
And so it makes sense that the 20-year-old kitchen in their apartment in Bath, England, required a redo. “It was very green, mint green to be specific,” says Rosa of the existing galley. “When I first visited, I remember seeing the motley tiles and the clunky carpentry. It felt dark and cramped and the intense greens made the narrow space feel even narrower.” Suffice to say the wrongs have been righted.
(N.B.: We featured the couple’s former apartment in Bath a few years back; head to At Home with Rosa Park of Cereal Magazine for a full tour.)
Photography courtesy of deVol.
As with all compact kitchens, determining the working flow was the biggest challenge. DeVol’s design team helped figure out placement: there’s even a hidden combination washing machine and dryer, a microwave tucked in a corner by the entry, plus a breakfast bar for two. The cabinets and cupboards are from deVol’s Real Shaker Kitchen line and are painted Mushroom, a shade the company describes as “a timeless beigey color, neither too yellow nor too gray.” The new floor is engineered oak, and the walls are in Farrow & Ball’s Cornforth White, one of our Architects’ Favorite Warm Grays. “We entertained going with a a navy or charcoal gray, but the space is too small, so we went with light neutrals” says Rosa. “We wanted to make sure all the design and color choices allow it to feel bigger, brighter, and taller.”
Shown here: an integrated Smeg range and induction stovetop paired with a stainless steel exhaust hood. The freestanding fridge is a Bosch.
Her secret to a clutter-free kitchen? “Clean every single day and put things away: once you’re done with your meal, the kitchen should look like you didn’t just cook. People think I’m crazy but I love cleaning. I’m like Monica from Friends; let’s just say I hoover my Hoover.”
The couple display a few favorite ceramics on the top shelf. In the glass jar lineup: short and long grain rice, couscous, quinoa, chickpeas, pine nuts, and sugar. For making coffee, they use a coffee bean grinder and Kinto stainless steel filter: see 10 Easy Pieces: Glass Coffee Pour Overs.
Galley kitchens are all about compact efficiency. Here are three more standout examples:
- Rehab Diary: Sleuthing for Space in My Kitchen
- A Minimalist Galley in a Georgian London Townhouse
- Steal This Look: A Small but Smart Kitchen in Brooklyn
Have a Question or Comment About This Post?
Join the conversation