Though intended for cooking, kitchens often end up being the first room in a home where families and friends gather, whether it’s congregating around a spacious island, lounging in plush banquette seating, or simply grabbing a bite straight from the counter. In the residences of top collectors, kitchens offer eye-catching art and cutting-edge design, giving people yet another reason to flock to this space. Below, discover a diverse mix of kitchens featured in Galerie’s archives that offer inspiration in everything from light fixtures and marble varieties to clever artwork display ideas.
A mosaic-tiled arched ceiling lends an old-world feel to the Steven Gambrel–designed kitchen, which is outfitted with American Art Deco pendants, gray-lacquered cabinetry with brass and bronze accents, and a La Cornue range. Photo: ERIC PIASECKI
1. “I love kitchens and I keep coming up with new ideas, but if you told me when I was younger that I would be an expert at designing kitchens I would have never guessed it,” Steven Gambrel told Galerie. The designer worked with architect Henry Jessup, a frequent collaborator, on a palatial Greenwich Village home, where the kitchen rivals the collectors’ blue-chip art collection. Topped by an arched mosaic-tiled ceiling, the space is outfitted with lacquer-and-bronze cabinetry, a trio of architectonic Art Deco lights, and a La Cornue range.
A Leo Villareal light sculpture glows in collector Stacey Bronfman’s kitchen, which is outfitted with custom-made bronze overhead lighting, a marble-top island with stools in the style of Jean Prouvé, and a Gaggenau oven. Photo: THOMAS LOOF
2. In the Fifth Avenue home of collector Stacey Bronfman, no room is off-limits for art. Designer Jacques Grange made a luminous Leo Villareal target sculpture the focal point of an all-white kitchen, whose ceiling features custom bronze lighting.
A custom walnut-slab table anchors the kitchen and dining area, while a Lindsey Adelman lighting pendant, a stacked Annie Morris sculpture, and a Garth Mason vase are geometric counterpoints. Photo: DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
3. Conceived by Scape Design Studio and Susan Marinello Interiors, art dealer Stacey Winston Levitan’s Sun Valley, Idaho, home is a majestic retreat. Taking inspiration from its surrounding mountains, the kitchen feels crisp yet cozy and full of natural materials. The table is flanked by Jiun Ho chairs, with additional chairs by RH and custom walnut benches by Taylor Woodworks. A stacked Annie Morris sculpture adds a subtle pop of color.
In the kitchen, which designer Bryan Graybill dubbed the Orangerie, copper lights sourced from the Brimfield flea market are installed above a bronze-top island crafted by Timeless Homes; the built-in refrigerator is by Sub-Zero, and the sink fixtures are by Waterworks. Photo: ERIC PIASECKI. STYLED BY HELEN CROWTHER
4. In collaboration with architectural firm Historical Concepts, Bryan Graybill designed his East Hampton home with influences from the Arts and Crafts and Vienna Secession movements. The interior designer calls his kitchen, which offers a sleek take on traditional, the Orangerie.
The kitchen cabinetry in this Marmol Radziner–designed home is crafted of bleached walnut with concrete countertops; the sink fittings are by Dornbracht, and the stools are by Minotti. Photo: ROGER DAVIES
5. In this modernist Palm Springs home designed by Los Angeles architecture firm Marmol Radziner, striking rectilinear forms meet abundant glass exposures that reveal the desert landscape. Drawing inspiration from nature and its neutral color palette, Sophie Harvey, an architect and designer in Aspen and New York City, collaborated on the interior finishes and oversaw the furnishings.
The open kitchen in Ralph and Rita Rudin’s home features a light fixture by John Pomp Studios and Risom chairs by Knoll; the refrigerator is by Sub-Zero. Photo: TREVOR TONDRO
6. For their midcentury-style Palm Springs residence, Ralph and Rita Rudin brought in Silvia Kuhle and Jeffrey Allsbrook of the Los Angeles architecture firm Standard to simplify the interiors. In the kitchen, the architects employed ipe—one of the most durable woods and often used for exterior decks—as well as pale marbles and quartzes.
The sprawling ground-floor kitchen in a Los Angeles home designed by Studio Jackson, Harrison Design, and Christine London. Photo: ROGER DAVIES
7. Architectural firm Harrison Design, landscape designer Christine London, and interior designer Ryan Gordon Jackson of Studio Jackson transformed a Chinese-style villa in Beverly Hills into the ultimate showcase for contemporary art. During the impressive renovation, the ground floor was converted into a single sprawling kitchen and entertaining area that gives way to an architectural pool.
Isabel López-Quesada imbued a Spanish countryside home with rustic touches, such as this distressed wood console. Photo: MIGUEL FLORES-VIANNA
8. Spanish designer Isabel López-Quesada crafted a magnificent getaway near Toledo on an estate that had been in the owner’s family for generations. In perfect harmony with the picturesque landscape, this countryside retreat exudes rustic elegance, as illustrated by this kitchen.
A porcelain enamel-on-steel work by Roy Lichtenstein adds punch to this La Jolla residence’s kitchen, which features colorful stools and chairs designed by Ettore Sottsass for Emeco; the cabinets are finished in a Benjamin Moore paint, the countertop is by Silestone, and the sink fittings are by Dornbracht. Photo: DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN
9. When major collectors Liz Anne and Phokion Potamianos were looking to refresh their La Jolla home, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright protégé Frederick Liebhardt in 1958, they turned to Eddie Lee. The inside of this bungalow features several family-friendly tweaks—like removing kitchen cabinets to accommodate a table and a plush modern banquette—and the results are also quite artful. A porcelain enamel-on-steel work by Roy Lichtenstein sets the tone for this bold, colorful space.
The kitchen of a Grade-designed Chelsea, New York, apartment is accented with Powell & Bonnell stools covered in a Kyle Bunting hide. A Mary Heilmann print (far right) resides on the counter. Photo: RICHARD POWERS
10. Grade Architecture and Interior Design created a gorgeous Chelsea Apartment in a Foster + Partners building for an art-loving Brazilian couple. Cream and beige interiors bring focus to their blue-chip collection and the space’s breathtaking views. In the kitchen, horizontal lines dominate and provide a sleek backdrop for countertop artworks.
The kitchen of Lillian Fernandez’s Palm Beach home is outfitted with cabinetry by Downsview, including a section in a custom blue; the range is by Wolf, the counter seats are a Karl Springer design, and the low stool is by Made Goods. Photo: FRANCESCO LAGNESE. STYLED BY LILI ABIR REGEN
11. When creating her dream home in Palm Beach, Florida native and interior designer Lillian Fernandez worked with local architects Stephen Roy and Virginia Dominicis and garden designer Fernando Wong. The artful one-bedroom home and its separate guesthouse emphasize a connection to the outdoors. Interiors, such as this blue-accented kitchen, feature clean lines and furnishings that complement the outdoors.
The kitchen of this Manhattan residence designed by Gil Schafer is outfitted with pendant by Ann-Morris and ceiling fixtures by Urban Archaeology; the range is by Wolf, and the refrigerator is by Sub-Zero. Photo: ERIC PIASECKI
12. In this contemporary-art-filled Fifth Avenue residence designed by architect Gil Schafer, each room has its own distinct color story. Among its brightest spaces is the kitchen, where pendants by Ann-Morris and ceiling fixtures by Urban Archaeology complement a Wolf Range and Sub-Zero refrigerator.
