The kitchen is the heart of the home. To ensure the space stays a treasured gathering spot, kitchen designs should be elegant and timeless. Nick and Heather Burkhart loved their Century home built in the late 1800s in Webster Groves, even though the kitchen’s style had sadly waned long before they purchased the house. Wood cabinetry needed a refresh and constrained spaces wanted opening up.

Poised on a spacious lot amidst a canopy of trees, Nick and Jill Azar’s home offered the perfect backdrop for a modern kitchen update that would honor the traditional architectural bones of their historic Sherwood Forest property. The eat-in booth from the old kitchen was too small, so the new design had to incorporate an island large enough to accommodate their large family of six. This meant a structural change incorporating the adjacent hall into the kitchen space, so the couple called in kitchen expert Keith Gegg of Gegg Design & Cabinetry to iron out the details.

After relocating three times in 15 years, David and Christine Everson were ready to settle into the home they always wanted. When they moved to the St. Louis area last year, they found a house in a beautiful neighborhood in Chesterfield. Built in 1993, the traditional-style home with a brick front exterior had good bones, and the back of the house had expansive windows that looked out onto a fantastic backyard oasis with a custom pool and gazebo. However, the interiors hadn’t been touched in about 25 years.  

Kitchens are typically called the hub and the heart of the home. But a more fitting description is multi-purpose. An ideal kitchen for many busy families would cater equally to two different groups and functions: the business of raising children and entertaining grown adults.

Kathy Israel, owner of Accent on Cabinets, worked with homeowner Jamie Levison and designer Elizabeth Glazer to create a kitchen that would accommodate the diverse needs of this busy family. The end result incorporates clean, modern elements that don’t sacrifice style.

Stephanie Pohlman laughs that her parents’ kitchen has been outdated since they moved in 25 years ago. “Think floral wallpaper, oak cabinets and a big soffit,” she describes. With all of their children grown and out of the house, John and Sue Rasch were ready for a freshening up.

It was an ambitious project—to say the least—for a St. Louis couple who took their original kitchen down to the studs and subfloor while inhabiting the rest of the house. Because the age of the home caused many challenges in the structure and overall design of the remodle, the project took eight months. Yet, the homeowners knew the final outcome would be well worth the wait.