Ancient House, Modern Kitchen

A modern kitchen befitting a two-hundred-year-old stone house on a Greek island.

The Campanula House, on the Ionian island of Corfu, shows how a skillful design successfully marries a modern kitchen to a rustic interior. This is one of 12 restored houses on the Rou Estate, a high-end property in Greece that touts outdoor terraces from which you can see Albania. Kitchens in each house have an original bread oven (no photos of that, alas) plus stone floors and walls, whitewashed plaster, and natural-wood beams typical of original structures in the Greek islands.

However, kitchen details are purely English: cabinets have wide-batten doors and panels, an under-mounted sink is accessorized with a statuesque pull-down faucet plus a drainboard with runnels, and walls are painted the same off-white as the cabinets so they blend seamlessly. The flat roof line of the upper cabinets guarantees they don’t compete with the architecture, and additional refinements occur around toe kicks, which are recessed along the work spaces and flush on the ends.

Additionally, counter tops are matched to the floor – which plays up both. Top appliances — Miele’s dishwasher, oven and cook top – are positioned for functionality but visually practically disappear. A Liebherr stand-alone refrigerator (far right) provides quiet reliability in a hot climate. At first glance, this kitchen looks like simplicity itself, always a sign of luxury and skill. Yet it’s a mix — one that really works.

(Source: Clive Nichols)

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