Charged with creating a child-safe kitchen, designer Ethan Greenfeld started with a basic move: rounding the countertop edges. “The client has young nieces and nephews who visit the home often and they were mindful of safety and wanted to minimize sharp points in the room,” he said. But after the founder and principal designer of Woodland Hills, Cal.-based Ethan Charles Design took that initial step, he recognized a greater aesthetic opportunity.
He decided to incorporate gentle curves throughout the entire kitchen. What started as a purely practical request had turned into a key design theme. Said Greenfeld, “It softened the space and made the kitchen design more fun and inviting.”
“We often approach a project with one crucial design element in mind or some piece of the puzzle that we are confident will transform the space,” Greenfeld explained. In the case of this kitchen, it was the cabinet material and finish: rift-sawn white oak with a natural stain.
This decision made, the hunt for the perfect worktop stone began. “Once we found these beautiful slabs and tagged them for our project, the rest of the design fell into place,” Greenfield said. He began playing with what colors could be pulled out of the stone and getting a baseline reading of what the vibe of the kitchen was going to be. From that point, choosing everything else – tile for the backsplash, cabinet hardware, statement lighting – was a focused process.
A Sinking Feeling
But the job did have a structural challenge. When the design team made their first site visit, they noticed a dip in the floor where the existing travertine had cracked, signaling an issue with the support for the flooring. At first, they thought it would just be a minor fix as it was limited to just one area. But when they specified a 1 1/4-inch-thick tumbled limestone for the new floor, they realized the entire support structure needed to be reinforced due to the load.
Greenfeld’s takeaway from this kitchen job? “This was the first time we designed a space with radial corners on cabinetry. It’s an unexpected detail that adds some personalization to the space and had us thinking a little outside of the box. I’d love to do it again in more projects – it feels subtle but makes a big design impact.”
Sources for Child-Safe Kitchen With Grown-Up Style
Design: Ethan Greenfeld, Ethan Charles Design; Photography: Public 311 Design; Cabinets: A Cut Above Woodworks; Cabinet Hardware: Waterstreet Brass; Cabinet Inserts: Rev-a-Shelf; Cooktop, Dishwasher, Microwave, Range, Refrigerator, Vent Hood, Wall Ovens, Wine Cooler: Monogram; Countertops, Tile: Walker Zanger; Faucets, Sinks: Watermark; Flooring: Limestone; Lighting: Urban Electric; Paint: Farrow & Ball; Seating: MadeGoods
