It’s been said the heart of the home is the kitchen.
Here are some hard-beating examples that, depending on your own heart, may be hard to beat.
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94 Stannard Avenue, Branford
2 bd | 1 ba | 960 sq ft | 0.44 ac | $435,000
In this small but handsome home, a good kitchen has to be able to do a lot with a little. Between honeyed wide-plank hardwood below and a floated rectangular design feature above, it’s the built-ins—a breadbox in the corner, a wine rack on the wall and a glassware rack under a cabinet, plus countertop lighting, a double-sided windowed cabinet and at least a dozen counter-level power outlets—that take this tight space’s utility to the next level.
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180 Stevenson Road, New Haven
3 bd | 2.5 ba | 2,398 sq ft | 0.25 ac | $549,900
This custom contemporary home’s initially minimalist-feeling kitchen slowly reveals its complexities. Dark stone countertops balance finely seamed woodgrain cabinetry, soft blue accent tiles and lithe metallic accessories. Two islands, including a large central one, offer an electric stove opposite an overhang for comfortable high-top seating. On a nearby wall, a segment of open cabinet and counter space could be a perfect little bar station during a party. Along a cascade of other walls, deluxe large windows show Chef a cross-section of the property’s pretty seasonal tree canopy.
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6 Prospect Court, Hamden
6 bd | 8 ba (6 full) | 8,430 sq ft | 0.78 ac | $2,499,000
If the 40-foot sunlit kitchen of this storybook Tudor mansion were to find itself under the Sorting Hat, the verdict might be Hufflepuff for its earthiness, though streaks of daring, grandeur and eccentricity more closely associated with other Hogwarts Houses could complicate things. Ornate Tudor-style cabinetry lined with a carved grapevine motif surrounds “granite countertops, a limestone backsplash, slate floors, and top-tier stainless-steel appliances.” The floor spans multiple tile patterns, while miniature fluted faux columns topped with curvaceous cornices separate the windows and flank the premium Wolf stove top. Like much of the home, it’s a riot of singularity and warmth but also legacy and solidity.
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5 Timber Lane, Westport
5 bd | 6 ba (5 full) | 5,273 sq ft | 1.68 ac | $3,999,000
The kitchen of this custom Colonial owned by an “acclaimed designer” would undoubtedly sort into Slytherin. Up-to-the-ceiling cabinets are painted in coal and flecked with contemporary gold hardware, their darkness echoed and exceeded by the obsidian-like top of a central island. Trendy white and grey stone in the surrounding countertops and their backsplashes brighten the look but don’t lighten the mood. A touch of warmth comes from the blond but not Malfoy-blond hardwood floor, whose planks, like magic wands, vary in width and length, which I promise is the last Harry Potter metaphor I’ll use today.
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122 Beachside Avenue, Westport
5 bd | 6 ba (5 full) | 11,450 sq ft | 6.56 ac | $25,000,000
This incredibly opulent estate expresses its majesty with restraint, including within its minimalist kitchen. Wall cabinets, a starring feature of almost all kitchens, are sidelined around a nearby wet bar. A triple- or maybe sextuple-wide range hood stretches where those cabinets would normally go, trading easier storage access for visual continuity. A central island with two separate sinks is wide and long enough to be shaped into a wonderfully ergonomic “C,” its enormous gray top cut from what appears to be a single slab of stone. Bay windows (which are actually full doors) overlook some of the property’s 400 feet of direct waterfront and can surely be flung open on a beautiful day, not that there’s likely to be a single day that isn’t beautiful here.
Written by Dan Mims. Images sourced from the linked real estate listings.
