JCC Designer Showhouse: The Cook’s Library

How to make a small interior space special enough to coax the cook out of the kitchen?

It wasn’t just the fact that it was a make-shift laundry room. With four doorways and a number of conflicting vertical and horizontal jogs, the previous space was simply unattractive, uncomfortable and uninviting.

The design objective for this project was to transform an uninviting pass-through room into a space worthy of its ocean-front address. What could be more exclusive than The Cook’s Library? An elegant retreat just off the kitchen, it is close by activity but also private -- the perfect place for planning the next holiday party or intimate family dinner.

To achieve the transformation, we first constructed a coffered ceiling to unify the angled surfaces and take advantage of the 9’ ceiling height. The custom-built bookcase wall adds a purposeful reference point. A four-wall, Susan Harter mural on canvas creates a continuous point of interest. And finally, we stocked the shelves with cookbooks, most lent by friends.

In sum, we created the illusion of a larger, far more sophisticated space, without changing the physical dimensions of the space itself.