Dark wood kitchens with a calm island

Dark wood brings instant warmth, and these two Nolte designs use it in large, calm planes rather than in detail. In the first, a long island in a dark walnut look sits in a room of wood-paneled walls and a board-formed concrete ceiling. A raised step in the dark worktop separates the sink from the cooking zone and doubles as a serving ledge. Two freestanding blocks of tall units, in a bronze-toned metallic look, hold the oven and storage. Full-height glazing with sheer curtains lets daylight rake across the grain.

Nothing in this kitchen has a handle, and nothing is decorative. The grain of the wood and the sheen of the tall units are enough, and the evening sun does the rest. The two tall blocks stand apart from each other, leaving a gap that shows the paneled wall and keeps the kitchen from becoming a solid wall of cabinets.

The second design puts the dark wood on the wall instead: a full-height run of dark wood-look tall units with an open niche and a built-in oven, in a classic room with ornate plaster moldings and a terrazzo floor. In front, a pale stone-look island with red stools gives the eye somewhere to rest, under a slim linear pendant.

For Los Angeles homes, dark wood works best with plenty of daylight and a lighter floor or worktop somewhere in view. A real wood veneer and a high-quality wood-look decor can look very similar in photos; we show both side by side so you can choose by touch and budget. See wood kitchens, wood veneer cabinets and luxury kitchens, or visit our showroom.