Los Angeles-based firm Commune Design was the perfect match for a client looking to harness the details and energy of French modernism and adapt it for a Santa Monica apartment. That was just the case when Hollywood talent manager Evelyn O’Neill (who produced Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Little Women) called on Roman Alonso and team after her lingering obsession with Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche left her wanting more for her high-rise ocean-side apartment. With a palette of cork flooring, white oak, stainless steel, copper, and unglazed tile, the kitchen is practically plucked from the mid-century. Here are the key elements.
Above: The white oak butcher block waterfall counter on the kitchen island is faced with stainless steel. The barstools are designed custom by Commune and made by Classic Design in Los Angeles, in the manner of iconic design duo Van Keppel-Green. Photograph by Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Commune Design, from Kitchen of the Week: French Mid-Century Style in Santa Monica.
Above: The white oak cabinetry was designed by Commune to resemble some of the sliding door features in the Charlotte Perriand-designed kitchen at Le Corbusier’s L’Unité d’habitation de Marseille. The cabinets were fabricated by Miguel Rojas and finished with an actual color from Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche palette. The handles are inspired by Charlotte Perriand’s design. Photograph by Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Commune Design, from Kitchen of the Week: French Mid-Century Style in Santa Monica.
Above: Mixed metals by way of a thin stainless steel countertop and unsealed copper backsplash and vent hood. Photograph by Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Commune Design, from Kitchen of the Week: French Mid-Century Style in Santa Monica.
Table of Contents
Materials
Above: The white oak cabinets are painted Blanc 32001 from the Le Corbusier Polychromie Architecturale collection from Drikolor.
Above: The countertop is custom stainless steel. For more on stainless steel as a countertop material, see our post Remodeling 101: Stainless Steel Countertops.
Above: The backsplash tiles are Heath Ceramics Square Field Tile from the Nude Tile collection developed for Tartine Manufactory. “It’s the clay used for the tiles [but] with no glaze and simply sealed, hence ‘nude’,” explains Alonso. Shown here is the Heath Ceramics Field Tile in a basic Powder M124 matte glaze.
Fixtures and Appliances
Above: A similar mid-size kitchen range is the robust Thermador 36 Inch Freestanding Gas Range for $8,599 at AJ Madison.
Above: The faucet is the Waterworks Henry Three-Hole Gooseneck Kitchen Faucet with lever handles and a sprayer, all in brass; $3,300 at Waterworks.
Above: For a similar filtered water dispenser, the Watts Single Handle Water Dispenser Faucet; $52.14 at The Home Depot.
Accessories
Above: Porcelain JB Blunk Cups are cast from the original ceramics made by JB Blunk between 1950 and 1990, now produced by his daughter Mariah Nielson and Atelier Dion with packaging by Commune; $85 each through JB Blunk.
Above: For a similar small hand-carved bowl, upstate New York-based artist Abigail Castañeda’s Natural Ash Bowl with Base is $350 at March.
Above: A similar curved wooden bowl is the hand-carved Andrew Pearce XXL Live Edge Oval Wooden Bowl in Black Walnut; $2,300 at Andrew Pearce.
Above: Made by Marin-based artist Bruce Mitchell, who apprenticed to sculptor JB Blunk in 1969, the Bay Laurel Bowl is carved from locally sourced California bay laurel; $2,200 at Commune.
Above: For a similar kitchen canister, the Yarnnakarn Rustic Medium Canister is $35 at Demeter Home.
Above: The Commune Liqueur Glass is handmade in borosilicate glass in Marostica, Italy; $42 each at March.
For more projects from Commune, see our posts:
- Expert Advice: Breaking the Rules with Commune Design
- Kitchen of the Week: Commune of LA Designs a Culinary Space in Paris
- A Hollywood Director’s Refined Off-the-Grid Cabin by Commune Design
- Steal This Look: An Exotic Tiled Kitchen by LA Design Firm Commune
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