Jeff Lewis has been a fixation of mine since his series, Flipping Out, premiered on Bravo in 2007. Lewis and his quirky staff flip houses and generate profits, laughs, and awkward silences. The self proclaimed OCD narcissist is often times placing himself in the middle of conflicts that I love to watch unfold. Last season (in a less dramatic scenario) Lewis was honored by House Beautiful when he was asked to design and create their Kitchen of the Year. The kitchen Jeff designed was modern, clean, and beautiful. Using dark, rich tones throughout the kitchen Jeff created a room that has become the envy of every housewife and Martha Stewart wannabe in America. Take a look at Mr. Lewis’ masterpiece.
In his House Beautiful interview Jeff Lewis states, “The kitchen is number one. It’s what really sells the house. It doesn’t matter how nice your living room is, or your dining room. Don’t spend the money, because people are going to end up in the kitchen.” His logic certainly rings true in my experiences. People seem to constantly gravitate towards the food!
Here we see Jeff using a wine rack as a divider to break up the room. This creates not only a beautiful aesthetic look, but also a talking point for guests at dinner parties. If you look in bottom right of the photograph you can see that the microwave in this kitchen is placed in an unconventional location – under the counter! At the push of a button this Jenn-Air microwave opens like a drawer for easy access and a less cluttered look.
Lewis also included specific touches like these customized drawers. These pegs can be removed and reorganized if you were to update your kitchenware.
The kitchen table was by far my favorite part of the room. With one end of the table resting on the counter top, the table became more dramatic. The large slab that is used as the table is very masculine and strong and serves as a great contrast to the rest of the kitchen. I was also struck by the intricacies and fantastical design of the light fixtures throughout Lewis’ kitchen. Jeff leaves the readers of House Beautiful with one tip to a quick, cheap, and easy kitchen remodel. Lewis advises that a simple change of your cabinet hardware can completely change the look and feel of any kitchen. Guess it’s time to head to the hardware store!
