Compact command center for the kitchen

Sunset, May, 1991

Compact command center for the kitchen Bigger than a breadbox, but not by much, this compact kitchen center nestles into a corner next to a stacked pair of ovens and a television recess. A 26- by 88-inch opening in the angled front wall frames the wedge-shaped alcove, which provides storage for cook books, a telephone, and kitchen office paraphernalia, with room for a stool to fit below its tile counter.

The triangular center takes up little space. Its floor area is essentially half of a 30-inch square cut diagonally; the 12-inch-deep bookcase on the right side borrows space from an adjacent room.

Vertical-grain fir with a white semitrans-parent stain lines the center's interior walls, ceiling, bookcase, and drawer. The fir has a light, warm tone that complements the tan-colored kitchen walls, which were rag-painted to achieve the look of aged plaster. Rounded edges on the gypsum-board walls further enhance the plaster appearance.

Sacramento architect Viggo Mathiesen designed the remodel with owner Lois Chappell of Davis, California.