Large, super high-end and gourmet-worthy, this black and white charmer by top Montreal designer Scott Yetman is one of the most interesting and well-designed kitchens we’ve seen in some time. It also has a popular color scheme worked out so thoroughly there are lessons even a practiced kitchen designer can take away.

Walls packed with equipment and features have little uninterrupted space however the kitchen looks coherently organized. Black counters create strong horizontal lines that help balance the space. Cabinets and lighting enhance – rather than fight – architectural features such as the clerestory windows [below] and coffered ceiling. By keeping cabinets, walls and other woodwork all the same color, the complexities become undetectable unless you happen to be looking for them. A stainless, double-bowl apron front main sink is bumped out slightly and fitted with a gooseneck bridge faucet and side sprayer.

While the centerpiece of the kitchen appears to be the imposing island, with butcher block and a built-in knife rack at the business end, the heart of this kitchen is a few feet away: the wood burning oven in the corner. With the beehive shape and tall chimney seamlessly built in, plus a commercial stainless work table alongside for setting down hot pizza and bread pans or earthenware dishes, this oven says “serious cook at home.”

The white Viking range and matching wall oven and warming drawer (with a microwave above) offer the full appliance enchilada. The range guard is equipped with flip-down shelves, suggesting heat lamps under the hood. This also is the first time we’ve seen a pot-filler faucet mounted adjacent to the range – normally they set above the burners – but since the faucet swivels sideways, the idea works (and makes space for those shelves).

Upper cabinets have the requisite glass doors flanking the sink, always a way to lighten things up around the windows. Side lites on the cabinets are a careful detail. Other nice touches include a steel towel railing and a pair of drawers on the end of the island; also basket storage at the center.

Lighting is ample as well. There are recessed lights in the ceiling, task lighting under upper cabinets and a chandelier with perfect scale and style for the space.

Tags: black and white kitchen, black counters, kitchen island with two surfaces, Scott Yetman, stainless steel apron front sink, white cabinets, white Viking range, white Viking wall oven, wood burning oven in kitchen