KBB: Everything in Its Right Place

Published in the January/February 2025 edition of Kitchen & Bath Business.

“The trickiest part of working in a vintage modernist building is that there are many, many rules about not disturbing the original structure or systems,” said architect Barry Goralnick, who was tasked with renovating an apartment in an iconic New York City tower. (A building so fabled, it counts Truman Capote and Richard Avedon as previous tenants.) “It was a delicate job, and all the electrical work had to be done live!”

So, when facing this challenge in the kitchen, which appeared to date back to the 80s or 90s, he kept the room’s footprint intact and much of the electrical and plumbing in place for new fixtures and appliances going in the same locations.

Cleaning House

With that plan in mind, the architect focused on presenting clean and open sightlines. The existing cabinetry along the sink wall, for instance, awkwardly presented three different depths: Two full-height pantries at either end sandwiched the countertop and protruded beyond the wall cabinets while sitting back from the base cabinets. To streamline all the casework, Goralnick removed these pantries and created a single plane of upper cabinets and one of lower cabinets in a much sleeker, up-to-date style. This not only resulted in the desired cleaner lines but also allowed for extension of the counter space by 3 feet. The island, now sporting the new cabinetry style, was kept in the same spot, but its countertop was also extended by nearly 2 feet on one side and half a foot on the other to create overhangs for counter stools.

Along the oven wall side, a bulky storage unit previously concealed a coffee bar, and a partition wedged between said bar and the ovens peeked outward. Here, the design team once again cleared the way, removing both and replacing the entire oven wall’s casework – which includes a panelized fridge – with the new kitchen system. Beyond the fridge, a conspicuous doorway with transom led to a 36-square-foot laundry room and closet space. The architect opened this laundry zone, knowing full well it would draw the eyes back farther and create the illusion of a larger kitchen overall. The storage units here now also bear the new kitchen design to keep the look cohesive.

The Finish Line

Optical illusions don’t end with the now-exposed laundry closet, however. Through a careful choice of finishes, Goralnick was able to produce a light and airy feel. Working closely with the cabinet maker, Ornare, he selected its platinum wood veneer with brushed- nickel hardware for the perimeter casework, a closely matching nut tone for the cook island’s back-painted glass fronts and a bright Cristallo stone to replace the previously weighty black countertops. Dark floor tiles were swapped out for light-toned engineered ash wood planks that complement without mimicking the cabinetry exactly.

An existing drop ceiling was torn out, but instead of keeping that overhead space open, the design team inserted a floating ceiling with small downlights and extended it beyond the island to just over the dining table to help make the kitchen appear larger. But the reason for this move was twofold.

“We floated that ceiling because if we had a chandelier on at night, it would have reflected in the window and you couldn’t see the most amazing view in the world,” said Goralnick, referring to the residence’s vistas of Manhattan’s East River and the United Nations headquarters.

All said, the challenge of visually enlarging and modernizing the kitchen without moving any major elements or appliances was a piece of cake for the architect. The icing on the cake? A mirrored back- splash he inserted along the sink wall helps reflect those phenomenal city views.