LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Juniors Kitchen Tour


A built-in niche made of glass mosaic tile above kitchen designer Leilah Douglah's stove is both beautiful and practical. Photos Andy Scheck

An eclectic mix of beautifully designed kitchens will be on the Lafayette Juniors' 15th annual Kitchen Tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 17. This year's tour features six special kitchens ranging in style from rustic, traditional, ranch, Cape Cod and farmhouse.

One of the stops on the tour is the Happy Valley home of kitchen designer Leila Douglah. When Douglah and her husband Doug Scougale bought the property two and a half years ago, they fell in love with the land but were not as enamored of the existing small home built in 1957. So the couple took the home apart piece by piece and recycled all of the materials to be used elsewhere. Meanwhile, Douglah got her contractor's license and spent over two years building her dream house.

Although she has been creating kitchens for clients for years, when it came to designing her own, Douglah had to decide how to merge her more transitional style with her husband's love of antiques.

The answer: an English cottage-style kitchen that combines design elements of a more traditional home with modern amenities.

The kitchen's walls are lined with custom-made walnut cabinets accented with bronze hardware, with a white hutch and center island to add contrasting color. The large island has a creamy countertop flecked with oranges and browns that pick up the darker colors of the surrounding cabinetry. The countertops under the walnut cabinets are lighter than that of the island, and both are made of quartzite, a material that resembles marble but is more durable and resistant to stains and scratches.

Above the island hangs a cluster of three circular forged iron candelabra light fixtures that give a contemporary touch to the kitchen while still blending in with the traditional surroundings.

Douglah was also sure to incorporate modern conveniences like a steam oven, a stainless Sub-Zero refrigerator and a built-in Miele espresso maker in her butler's pantry to facilitate the couple's love of entertaining.

"We do more of open-house type events where everyone just wants to hang in the kitchen, " she says.

Her favorite feature of her kitchen is a beautiful stone hood topped with copper that sits above the Wolf stove. The marble backsplash behind the stovetop has a carved-out niche in glass mosaic tile that she uses to keep cooking staples like salt, pepper and olive oil within easy reach.

Across town in the trails area of Lafayette, Kieran and Jeanette Mone also fell in love with a piece of property, which just happened to have a 100-year-old house on it. The Mones lived in the original 1,400 square-foot ranch house - complete with the original furnace, windows, plumbing and electrical - for three years after they purchased it in 2008. In 2011, the couple decided to rebuild the home into a modern-day farmhouse for their family of five.

Completed in 2012, Jeanette Mone describes the décor of her house as "industrial farmhouse," which combines traditional accessories like farmhouse curtains in front of the hallway laundry nook with lighting fixtures made from reclaimed metal.

Their kitchen is fun and cheerful, with a black and white checkerboard ceramic tile floor and shaker-style white cabinets. Red and turquoise appliances dot the kitchen with color, including a 1950 turquoise KitchenAid oven, which Jeanette literally found on a curb and Kieran, a contractor who built the home, refurbished.

Kieran also repurposed a metal farm feeder into a light fixture over the kitchen island, which is topped with a dark-stained Alder wood counter and a Shaw's farmhouse sink. The kitchen's pantry and utility hallway have screen doors, which allow air to circulate and let Jeanette keep track of what's being used. Not a fan of clutter, Jeanette's favorite thing about the kitchen is the open metal shelving on either side of the stainless steel hood, which holds the family's plates and bowls.

"We go through that entire stack of plates every week and a half," she says. "It really is a very practical thing."

The Mones took inspiration from the original house by duplicating the 1913 millwork in the molding around the windows and doors and used the red door from the original house as their front door, even down to the knob.

To see these and other great homes on the tour, tickets can be purchased online at www.lafayettejuniors.org or from Douglah Designs and Premier Kitchens in Lafayette. Tickets are $40 ($30 tax deductible) with a box lunch available for $15.

Proceeds from this year's Tour benefit the work of five local non-profit organizations including First Place for Youth, STAND!, the Lafayette Library, SEED, and Twin Canyon Camp. These organizations were selected by the Lafayette Juniors for the support they provide to children and families in need in Contra Costa and neighboring East Bay counties.