kitchens

Last month the Lafayette Juniors held their annual kitchen tour of six incredible Lafayette homes to help out several non-profit organizations, (see the first kitchen of the day from the tour here). Find out more about the beneficiaries here.

This kitchen and home is located in the Happy Valley neighborhood in Lafayette and hosted the luncheon in a magnificent backyard featuring a pool, hot tub with numerous patio and entertaining areas throughout. The highlight for me was the spacious outdoor entertaining areas adjacent to the kitchen through a glass door. At first glance the photo above looks like it could be an indoor dining room, but notice the heat lamps on the ceiling; it’s inside-outside living at its finest! Backyard barbecues taken to a whole new level. Another highlight was seeing beehives in front of the house! Sure, plenty of houses have chicken coops (including this home), but bee hive boxes in the front yard? Amazing.

From the Lafayette Juniors description:

The classic kitchen has a bohemian twist. This newly-built home was constructed with classic, elegant finishes. What makes this kitchen unique is that the homeowner’s personal, bohemian style shines through to create a warm, welcoming family kitchen. Stainless steel countertops surround the room and two expansive calacatta marble islands encourage guests to linger in the kitchen while allowing plenty of prep space. Plus, an adjacent butler’s pantry with a playful tile backsplash makes this kitchen party-ready. The kitchen and great room flow easily into an outdoor living room and kitchen to extend the entertaining outdoors.

More photos including the pool, beehives and more after the jump…

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Over the weekend the Lafayette Juniors held their 16th annual kitchen tour featuring six amazing homes and kitchens in Lafayette and this year’s beneficiaries are Ruby’s Place, Boys & Girls Club of Diablo Valley, Las Trampas, Trinity Center Walnut Creek and VESTIA. Find out more about the beneficiaries here. This year the Lafayette Juniors also published a cookbook with delicious looking recipes which is available at, “select Lafayette locations, including Diablo Foods, Venture Quality Goods, and The Storyteller Bookstore.”

Everything came together with this mid-century modern kitchen that perfectly complements the Fred Langhorst-designed house, who was an apprentice of Frank Loyd Wright. The colors, textures and lighting feel just right. One of my favorite parts of this home are the gorgeous lights. This kitchen was featured in a Houzz “Kitchen of the Week” post here.

Check out the kitchen designer’s website, Cocoon Home, here. Also note that the painting behind the table in the photo below is by local Lafayette artist Jennifer Perlmutter. Check out her gallery website here.

From the Lafayette Juniors description:

The mid-century modern kitchen homeowners took great care in updating their 1953 home to create a kitchen that is both functional and stylistically appropriate. Existing redwood paneling throughout the home is complemented by cool bluish green cabinetry, while brass hardware and lighting warm up the space. The homeowners improved traffic flow and opened up this kitchen to make it truly the heart of the home.

Ed. Note: The no photography sign didn’t apply to press

Photos of the living room and patio area after the jump…

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This week’s kitchen of the day, located in south Lafayette is also from this year’s Lafayette Juniors Kitchen tour held last month. More photos from the tour are available here. The huge island featuring honed white and gray Calacutta De Oro marble countertops was one of the highlights for me, as was a unique cutting board, pictured in one of the photos below.

From the Lafayette Juniors description:

The ranch home houses a cook’s kitchen. The kitchen has beautifully honed Calcutta marble countertops with dual dishwashers and sinks. The kitchen is all white yet very vibrant. It has touches of modern elements with pops of orange in the décor. The kitchen offers grace and elegance in an immensely functional design which includes a built-in icemaker and wine
refrigerator.

Dining Area:

More photos including the cutting board after the jump…

Cutting board:

Side entry:

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Last week I featured one of the kitchens from the 15th annual Lafayette Juniors Kitchen tour  and here is one more “kitchen of the day”. You can see more photos from the tour on the Lafayette Juniors Facebook page here.

This house was originally a horse ranch and the farmhouse setting was preserved for the remodel. From the tour description:

The farmhouse home is a sight to be seen. The refurbished vintage oven and stovetop lend a unique charm to the house. The kitchen prides an untraditional remodel of tiled counter tops and an alder wood island. Checker style kitchen floors add charm, balance and warmth to the house. The homeowners love to reuse materials and products: There is even a small old bathtub that is used as a flowerbed in the serene backyard.

The scene pictured below in the open area next to the kitchen is one of my favorites. Perfectly in keeping with the farmhouse style!

More photos including a solar powered chicken coop after the jump…

Gate at side entrance:

Refurbished oven:

Solar powered chicken coop:

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This past Saturday the 15th annual Lafayette Juniors kitchen tour took place and I had the opportunity to check out six amazing kitchens. The Lafayette Juniors holds this event every year in May to benefit various charities such as First Place for Youth, Stand!, SEED, the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, and Girl Scouts of Northern California. More details on the beneficiaries here. If you are planning a remodel this tour is a must-see!

The spacious and airy kitchen featured here is located in north Lafayette with incredible views of Mount Diablo and Briones Regional Park. A fire pit and pool right outside takes full advantage of these views making this the perfect place for entertaining.

From the Lafayette Juniors description:

The Cape Cod home offers spectacular views of Mount Diablo. The homeowner built the home and designed the kitchen with functionality in mind. A spacious center island lets family and friends easily gather and the appliances are restaurant grade. The outdoor area has a beautiful kitchen and plenty of dining areas for causal entertaining. The homeowner installed automatic blinds throughout the home and all of these blinds are programmed to open and close with the rising and setting of the sun. Touch screen entertaining lights and music are made possible because of specially installed high-tech electronic wiring.

Fire pit with a view:

More photos of the inside and the pool after the jump…

Pool outside kitchen:

Inside view of open living area:

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This is the final kitchen to be featured from the Lafayette Juniors Kitchen Tour that took place last month in Lafayette. One cool feature I noticed was a shallow space in the kitchen island being used for grilling tools as you can see in the photo below. Great use of space!

This house, in particular the backyard, is an entertainer’s dream and in fact this is where the luncheon took place. There are so many great, shady spots in the back to hang out and enjoy the scenery.

Check out photos of the backyard after the jump…

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This is another kitchen from the Lafayette Juniors Kitchen Tour that took place a couple of weeks ago. You can see the previous kitchens here and here. I really liked the transitional style of this kitchen with clean design featured throughout. The skylight at top allows abundant natural light into the kitchen area which I appreciated. The highlight of this kitchen for me was the beautiful Vetrazzo recycled glass countertop on the island. Take a closer look of the Vetrazzo countertop in the photo below. I had seen this in showrooms before but this was the first one I saw in a real kitchen and think it looks amazing!

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