Deep Indigo Plays a Starring Role in This Fresh, Fun Kitchen Renovation

Design Team

Interior Designer
Sarah Robertson, Owner/Principal, Studio Dearborn, Mamaroneck

Architect
Gregory Lewis Architect, Larchmont

General Contractor

Daniel Cores, Elite Construction, Mamaroneck

What’s cooking in today’s kitchens? Try — wait for it — color! After years of stark, all-white kitchens looking clean and, dare we say, antiseptic enough for surgery, homeowners are craving some color in the room often called the heart of the house. “People are getting braver,” says interior designer Sarah Robertson, owner/principal of Studio Dearborn in Mamaroneck. “Almost everyone wants to bring in some color, and it’s such a nice change.”

Case in point? This fun, vibrant Larchmont kitchen — a gut renovation, with a layout by Larchmont architect Gregory Lewis — in which deep indigo plays a starring role on cabinets and the punchy, patterned poured-cement tile backsplash. “We wanted it to feel fresh and clean and fun, but not too modern,” says Robertson. “We were going for a transitional, California-casual look.”

The homeowner, Yulia Tanis, an aspiring interior designer, loves color, Robertson says. Though celadon green — ultimately used for the laundry room — was in contention, “blue had more of a waterfront vibe — the house is not far from the beach — and mixed better with the walnut bar-area countertop and shelves.”

Says Tanis, “We were a young couple, so we wanted to do something young and kind of funky. But at the same time, we wanted a look that would remain relevant and wouldn’t go out of style in a few years.”

Blue is perfect. “It embodies both of these directions — fun and vibrant and hip, but at the same time not too trendy. It’s classy,” Tanis says.

Details

Square footage

248
(kitchen area only)

600
(coupled with adjacent breakfast area and family room)

Because they went “all out with the blue color and the fun, bold pattern on the backsplash,” says Robertson, “we kept everything else a little more subdued, with the dark walnut and greige — grayish beige — quartz and cabinet fronts, and brushed brass accents.

And because it’s not a huge space, says Robertson, “We did our usual packing in of everything we can possibly pack in there, making use of every single inch, including custom pullouts for produce in the pantry.”

Robertson never overlooks function in a family kitchen. “It has to look good but also work well, especially what’s going on inside the cabinets,” the designer says.

Tanis loves the result of their collaboration. “The color, the hardware, the tiles — it has character,” she says. “It really hit home with being welcoming, functional, and stylish.”