Project Description
2009 RADA
Kitchen /Merit
For his own home and kitchen, Jack Hawkins, AIA, LEED AP, “wanted to see how small we could live.” The result “really talks about the kitchen as being more than a kitchen,” said one judge. “It’s art the way it’s done,” added another.
Hawkins loaded as much storage as possible into custom cabinets that climb step-by-step with a hot-rolled steel stair until they level out at counter height. The smooth steel also works as a low-maintenance backsplash that blends nicely with cast-in-place concrete counters. Steamed beech millwork, which Hawkins used throughout the house for continuity, provides a warm counterpoint to the otherwise raw materials.
“The biggest challenge was talking my wife into having our bed in the kitchen,” he chuckles. Much like our jury, however, she quickly fell head over heels for the Murphy bed, along with all of the clever cabinetry.