This Rustic Arizona Kitchen Feels Like a French Countryside Vacation
Wait until you see the stunning stonework.
Bringing together the rustic and the streamlined wasn’t the only balancing act architect Don Ziebell and designer Inga L. Rehmann, of Oz Architects, pulled off in this Provençal-inspired kitchen in a new Scottsdale, Arizona, home. The clients are empty nesters who wanted the kitchen to feel “cozy day-to-day, but spacious when they entertained,” Rehmann says. By tailoring the adjacent morning room and pavilion to accommodate large groups, the kitchen “could stay intimate. It’s the best of both worlds,” the designer says.
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Sourced in France, reclaimed-oak ceiling beams “bring an authentic vibe to the space,” Ziebell says. Also adding a French accent: limestone from Provence for the counters and floor tiles.
To complement the light tiles and counters, Ziebell added a rustic feel with the stone walls. Locally quarried fieldstone mimics the stonework of farmhouses. Applying a mortar wash mixed with site dirt softened the colors of the rocks and upped the coarseness. With the textured walls, Ziebell wanted the cabinets to be a “quiet, reserved moment.”
Mixed Textures
Reminiscent of a bar top in a brasserie, the poured-pewter island will take on a patina over time as the surface changes from pale silver to a dark gray. Along with the industrial zinc of the pendants, pewter contrasts the sleek stainless steel Wolf convection steam oven and Sub-Zero refrigerator.
Since the clients don’t have many family-size meals, Rehmann shrank the footprint of the island and turned the space into a conversation area. The wingback chairs “are a comfy spot for them to sip drinks and chat,” she says. The 1800s Spanish trestle table doesn’t have a French pedigree, but Rehmann couldn’t resist its rough-hewn appeal. After paint was stripped off, it was mounted on risers with the original ball feet reattached, boosting it to counter height.
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The antique French folding chairs can be swapped out for more formal seating or removed to transform the pine table into a buffet or drinks bar. Classic architectural details — clay plaster walls, a Belgian bluestone and limestone floor — won’t clash with party decor. The planks of salvaged barnwood on the ceiling are milled flat, to tone down the rusticity.
Floor-to-ceiling Hope’s windows and French doors create an indoor-outdoor conservatory feel. The combo of the slim steel frames and large-scale panes "isn't modern or country. It's transitional, which works well for in-between rooms," Ziebell says.
Alfresco Partying
Sized for socializing, the pavilion gains drama from a 13-foot peaked ceiling with beams identical to those in the kitchen. A jute rug from RH, Restoration Hardware delineates a conversation area, along with a pair of Lee Industries sofas and teak cube stools from Ralph Lauren Home.
An Oz Architects design, the blackened-steel waterfall table offers diners a direct view of the culinary action happening at the cooking fireplace, which can be outfitted with a height-adjustable grate for Argentine-style barbecue. Antique French hearth bricks form a niche for the fireplace and the nearby grill from Alfresco.
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This story originally appeared in the November 2017 issue of House Beautiful.
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