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"[Kitchens](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/22-of-the-best-and-brightest-kitchens-in-ad) are not only the heart of any home, but also a room that tends to capture the collective design imagination, perennially populating Pinterest boards and Instagram feeds. Given this widespread fascination, perhaps it can be said that an interior designer’s kitchens are one of the best representations of their work. So when Pamela Shamshiri, the AD100 designer behind L.A.-based firm Studio Shamshiri, joined AD PRO for a virtual event yesterday, the subject of kitchens offered an illuminating lens into her broader design ethos.\n\nChatting with *AD*’s West Coast editor, Mayer Rus, [Shamshiri](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/pamela-shamshiri-life-in-design) shared some of her favorite kitchen projects from coast to coast. Along the way, she detailed the design features and products that she revisits over and over again. Below, we distill her kitchen essentials, ranging from the [best barstools](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/26-bar-stools-ad100-architects-and-designers-love) to what she looks for in appliances.\n\n\n\n[#image: /photos/5f7e0cc888aad3b393c33fa2]|||A loft kitchen featuring painted cabinets, open shelves, and BassamFellows’s Tractor barstools.|||\n\n**A multipurpose pantry**\n\nThe secret to Shamshiri’s pristine-looking kitchens? A separate pantry space that does a lot of heavy lifting. “We’ve been doing a lot of smaller front-of-the-house kitchens with a very supportive, ample pantry off of it,” she said during the talk. That pantry can hold not only spices, oils, and other cooking staples, but also appliances, a sink, and even a secondary kitchen prep space. “That’s what allows this situation,” she adds, referring to the minimalist (and clutter-free) kitchens that she likes to make for her clients.\n\n**Open shelves**\n\nAlong those lines, with storage needs taken care of in the pantry, the kitchen itself can showcase only the prettiest and most-used items, preferably on open shelves. “Your day-to-day dishes being out, and not [having to struggle] with [cabinet] doors and uppers, is something a lot of people are going for these days,” she says. But, she explains, this feature is often something she needs to convince her clients to adopt. “It’s always a negotiation. We end up talking them into having a combination of closed and open [shelves],” Shamshiri says.\n\n\n\n[#image: /photos/5f7e0d842d9b1b6779da5953]|||Reclaimed cement tile forms a checkerboard pattern on the floor of this kitchen.|||\n\n**Great barstools**\n\nWhen it comes to kitchen stools, it’s important to get it right. Shamshiri swears by the popular [BassamFellows Tractor bar stools](https://fave.co/3dh7x97). The [Square Guest stool by BDDW](http://bddw.com/furniture/seating/square_guest_stool) is another favorite. “This has become our new go-to stool because the legs don’t splay out,” she says. “Kids have an easier time with this one. It’s very indestructible and it’s more comfortable than it looks.”\n\n**Statement tile**\n\nThroughout Studio Shamshiri’s kitchens, you’ll see tile being used over and over again, in numerous forms, colors, and applications. In a Manhattan loft, [BDDW tiles](http://bddw.com/) add a handcrafted touch. Shamshiri is also a big fan of zellige tile—“it’s one of the oldest processes as far as making tiles,” she explains. “There’s something appetizing and yummy about that.”&nbsp;\n\nFloors are another opportunity to create a striking tile moment. One project shows a black terra-cotta tile floor, while another features reclaimed cement tile in a white-and-yellow checkerboard pattern. Both materials were purchased from [Exquisite Surfaces](http://xsurfaces.com/#/).\n\n+++inset-left\n\n[#image: /photos/5f7e0d229b2d91d4d19a4892]|||The appliances here are concealed behind walnut surfaces.|||\n\n+++\n\n**Hardworking, integrated appliances**\n\nWhen it comes to appliances, Shamshiri has a handful of go-to tricks. One is integrating appliances to match the look of the surrounding cabinets. “If we want an industrial element, we embrace the stainless,” she says. “But normally we like things warm—most of the time we’re integrating.” When the firm does so, it tends to use [Miele appliances](https://fave.co/3nqGXyS), “because of the way they do their ventilation—it’s at the back and not at the top or bottom, so you can really achieve the seamless look,” she explains.\n\nAnother appliance feature she sees coming up more and more: steam ovens, or combination convection and steam ovens. Her favorite sources are Miele for the former and [Thermador](https://fave.co/2FeYBV6) for the latter. “That is a welcome introduction to our kitchens, and I think it’s great—anything cooking with water seems to be healthier and a great advancement,” she says. Finally, Shamshiri explains that fridges designed specially for growing herbs and keeping them fresh are something that many clients are requesting these days.\n\n+++inset-right\n\n[#externallink: /externallinks/5db20af5868e940009b6f6f7]|||Become an AD PRO Member|||\n\n+++\n\n**Painted cabinets**\n\nA colorful cabinet look is Shamshiri’s signature. “The trend right now is painted kitchens,” she says. “We get a lot of people asking for [Plain English](https://www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk/plain-english-kitchens/) kitchens.” Whether painted in a dusty yellow, a matte black, or a pale blue hue, the cabinets pop up over and over again in Shamshiri’s portfolio.\n\n**Skirts**\n\nLast but not least, Shamshiri loves a good skirt. The feature is not just decorative; it has the added benefit of hiding unsightly items under a sink. “That skirt hides a lot of things going on back there,” she says of the one installed in her studio’s kitchen, which was cut from a piece of textile lying around the office. Luckily, [skirts are very on-trend](https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/skirted-furniture-is-having-a-moment) too.\n\n\n\n[#image: /photos/5f7e0d850750127077d2328d]|||BDDW bar stools appear in a midcentury-modern residence.|||\n\n"
<https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/pamela-shamshiris-7-kitchen-design-essentials>