Chic Gray Kitchen

A subtle use of brass in hardware, barstools and pendant lights “gives a nod to the current brass trend but the material is placed in such a way as to provide a classic and art-deco-like historic feel,” designer Corine Maggio says.

When homeowners Alison and Sean Ericson presented Corine Maggio of CM Natural Designs their inspiration images of mostly white kitchens, Corine proposed something else: a black kitchen.

“Sean and Alison are a young couple, very much living an urban lifestyle, successful professionals, kind of hip, active people who are really cool,” Corine explains. “Given their personalities, a white kitchen just didn’t seem to make sense. So, not only did I not present them with an all-white kitchen, I went all the way in the other direction.”

At first, the couple loved the look but after sleeping on it, they got apprehensive.

A marble counter and backsplash with gray undertones complement the cabinet color.

“It was beautiful and we like to think we are adventurous, but it was a bit too out there for us,” Alison admits. “So, we asked her to brighten up the colors a bit but abandon the idea of white.”

The compromise they landed on was a simple putty gray— which they used on cabinets and on the Italian marble countertop and backsplash—with a few added brass accents.

Glass cabinets with a black frame create a moment of surprise.

“I didn’t want to overdo the brass, like they did in the ’80s when it was all over the place,” Corine says. “The challenge was to make it timeless, so we went with pendants that have a bit of brass banding, acrylic handles on cabinets that have antique brass hardware and black leather bar stools with brass elements.”

The black stools balance out a glass, black-framed, piano-hinged corner cabinet that makes use of dead space and provides a spot for Alison and Sean to showcase glassware and heirloom pieces like Alison’s grandmother’s tea kettle and ceramic vase.

“The custom cabinet makes our go-to kitchen items so accessible but houses them in such a beautiful way,” Alison says. “It is the statement piece of the kitchen.”

Hickory flooring provides organic balance for the space.