Black, White, and Tiled All Over - Design Bureau

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Black, White, and Tiled All Over

Sunday, August 10th, 2014

Featured Company: Brian Z. Allen Design - Location: Half Moon Bay, California - Project Type: Residence - Project Name: Half Moon Bay Residence

Photos by Tim Maloney, technicalimagery.com

By Amanda Koellner

Completely stripping down, reconfiguring, and refinishing entire rooms from top to bottom is the stuff of which interior designer dreams are made, and that was exactly the task given to Brian Z. Allen for this California residence. Turning to stainless steel appliances and sparkling tiles, Allen started from scratch on many of the house’s rooms, completely doing away with old layouts to unify the home with specific materials. “The color scheme throughout was kept in shades of whites, greys, and dark woods, which is simple but with many touches that pop against it,” he says, “such as the sparkle of the mosaic tiles in the kitchen’s countertops.” Here Allen dishes on the decisions behind the design.

Which of the house’s rooms do you think best exemplifies fantastic design?

I think the kitchen has a wonderful balance of unique materials, depth, contrast, and convenience items that all come together to make not only a stunning kitchen to look at but also a highly functional space to work in. The space feels rich with sparkling components that are warm and inviting yet balance with some very clean-line elements to keep it from being overwhelming.

Which specific details in the kitchen make it stand out?

I think that the range wall in the kitchen represents the overall feel of the home quite well. It shows an example of a plain, nine-feet-wide stainless steel angled hood that’s balanced with a beautiful, custom-designed Italian mosaic backsplash below that shows how one extremely simple element balances a very ornate wall of tile. The stainless steel of the hood is tied together with stainless-steel tops below it and stainless-steel cabinets flanking the range. The black range ties together nicely with the black mosaic tile.

What was the client’s favorite design element of the home?

One element that the client was very excited about is the dining room's built-in buffet. It was a very awkward space to work with, and they didn’t know how to address it before talking with me. The floor of the area we built in the cabinets is angled, so it was a challenge to work with building in cabinets, but the final result looks like it could have been part of the home’s original design.

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