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" VIEW MORE PHOTOS   Bay Area homeowners Paula Groves and Johnny Hawthorne had a long list of kitchen desires that seemed maddeningly conflicted. They wanted an open space that would also be separated from adjacent rooms. They coveted lots of amenities and copious storage\u2014but they didn&amp;#039;t want the room to look overly busy. To mold these far-flung ideas into a coherent space, the couple turned to Vernon Applegate and Gioi Tran, of Applegate Tran Interiors in San Francisco. They had collected &amp;quot;a gigantic album of pictures from every magazine you can think of,&amp;quot; says Johnny. &amp;quot;We didn&amp;#039;t put anything in the book unless we both liked it,&amp;quot; Paula says. They settled on an African-Asian blend, with unfussy lines and natural, neutral colors. The old kitchen in their Oakland, California, home was a small galley, isolated from the rest of the house. Into this, the couple envisioned adding a 48-inch cooktop, a built-in refrigerator, multiple sinks, a big-screen TV and lots of storage\u2014but without too much visual clutter. &amp;quot;I said, &amp;#039;Wow, you&amp;#039;re asking for a lot,&amp;#039; &amp;quot; Tran says. &amp;quot;We had to tell Paula and Johnny that they would have to give up something. Ultimately, they were willing to lose the den to have a bigger kitchen.&amp;quot; Indeed, the designers grafted the den/family room onto the existing kitchen, creating a total remodeled space that measures 22x10 feet. See resources for this story    Acquiring space from an adjacent den allowed the designers to convert a galley kitchen into an open-plan suite, with the island acting as a kind of half wall to create a sense of separate rooms.    The area gained from this annexation allowed Applegate and Tran to add the amenities Paula and Johnny wanted. However, the true challenge was beefing up the storage capacity without overwhelming the space. Sacrificing upper cabinets effectively eliminated bulk. To make up for the lost storage, they dedicated an entire end wall to flush-front cabinets, fitted around a pair of wall ovens and a warming drawer. Some design flourishes make the stretch of clean wall impressive. One is a stainless steel vent hood that extends along an entire run of base cabinets, forming a modernist hearth of sorts. Other features are a piece of African art and a flat-screen TV. The most remarkable facet of the wall, however, is its color\u2014blue. With all the neutral, earthy colors, Tran says, &amp;quot;We thought, Let&amp;#039;s contrast that with a cool color on the wall. I have to say they weren&amp;#039;t too keen on the idea.&amp;quot; In the end, he convinced them. &amp;quot;We didn&amp;#039;t want the television to jump out at them when it wasn&amp;#039;t on\u2014think about a white wall with a blank black screen on it. Also, in the worst case, if they didn&amp;#039;t like it, we could paint over it.&amp;quot; Structural issues also posed challenges. Above the kitchen is a loft, supported by columns that had to stay put. The designers built an island onto one of the columns. &amp;quot;The island creates a barrier,&amp;quot; Tran says, &amp;quot;so that you have an open-plan kitchen but with some separation.&amp;quot; Paula admits to &amp;quot;bumps along the way,&amp;quot; including construction code changes late in the game and tedious government hassles. She says the fact that she and Johnny teamed up well with the designers and their contractor, Jim Crone of Turlock, California, smoothed things considerably. &amp;quot;I don&amp;#039;t look at it as a frustrating process,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;It was very, very educational.&amp;quot;    design points So Happy Together Whether it be the materials in the space or the people in the home, this kitchen is all about encouraging groups to get along harmoniously. Designers Vernon Applegate and Gioi Tran blended convenience and aesthetics to create a very satisfying home environment. Here&amp;#039;s how.        Come In, But Stay Out - As part of an open plan, only an island separates the kitchen from the living and dining areas. Thanks to the island&amp;#039;s L shape, when someone is cooking in the kitchen, people in the living room can grab a beverage from the wine refrigerator or refresh a tepid hors d&amp;#039;oeuvre or cup of joe at the microwave, all without setting foot in the kitchen proper.       Establishing A Mood - Earth tones and neutrals dominate the space (the blue wall being the primary exception). The cabinets have a fairly tight wood grain that runs horizontally for a change of pace. In addition to highlighting the slightly washed-out oak, dark stain rubbed into the wood&amp;#039;s surface crevices picks up on the absolute black granite countertops. &amp;quot;We decided the horizontal surfaces would be dark so there would be more emphasis on the cabinets,&amp;quot; Tran says. The rich mahogany-stained floor is also oak.        Give Them A Metal - The earth tone palette was meant to complement stainless steel, which is featured prominently in the appliances, range hood and tambour garage door.   See our slideshow "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/home-remodeling-renovating/a1226/california-compromise-43619/>