Couture Cool
A family’s renovated kitchen by designer Amy Morris is functional yet fashion-forward
If kitchens are the heart of the home, then Amy Morris makes them beat faster. The interior designer aims for her kitchens to serve as beautiful backdrops for her clients, including this entertaining-savvy family of six, which includes two adult children, as well as a 17-year-old and a 7-year-old. “It’s about setting the stage for them, which is important in everybody’s home,” Morris says.
Sarah and Bobby Batson welcomed Morris’ fashion-forward design plans in their remodeled Brookhaven home. A book-matched chevron backsplash and a cascading marble island are couture-like details that transformed a once-traditional kitchen with white cabinets into a provocative, modern space. “They have a love and respect for contemporary,” says Morris. “They are willing to take that extra step with design, which is what we did with the countertop.” The linear veining in the Marmara marble countertop and oversized backsplash infuse the kitchen with a bold sense of movement.
But fashion couldn’t replace function. The marble drops down into a table, which serves as an intimate space for the parents to dine and chat facing their children, instead of perched on counter stools and eating shoulder-to-shoulder. Renovations knocked out a wall so that the kitchen has more of a galley-style layout and opens to a more formal adjacent dining area used for full family dinners and entertaining.
Resources DESIGNER Amy Morris, Amy Morris Interiors; (404) 389-0628, amymorrisinteriors.com ARCHITECT Bradley E. Heppner, Bradley E. Heppner Architecture LLC; (404) 745-9339; bradleyeheppner.com CONTRACTOR Cruce Construction (706) 299-8478; cruceconstructiondesign.com CABINETRY Morgan Creek Cabinet Company COUNTERTOPS AND BACKSPLASH Marmi Natural Stone HARDWARE Manzoni ISLAND PENDANTS The Urban Electric Co. CHAIRS Baker Furniture ISLAND BOWLS Signature Gallery BREAKFAST TABLE South of Market BREAKFAST TABLE CHAIRS Donghia BREAKFAST TABLE LIGHT Coup Studio at R. Hughes CUTTING BOARD AND BREAKFAST TABLE VASE Dixon Rye GLASS VASE ON ISLAND Townhouse by Robert Brown BLACK HORN BOWL B.D. Jeffries