Previous pages: For the design of his own New
York apartment, interior designer Jamie Drake had
to overcome the challenge of a large structural
column in the middle of the living area. His
solution was to make it even bigger, turning it into
an attractive feature for the TV, books and storage.
The same materials used to surround the column
were then also used for the kitchen cabinetry.
These pages: At over 5m long, the angled kitchen
island makes an immediate sculptural statement
when visitors walk into the apartment. As Drake
never cooks, the island is used as an entertainment
zone and buffet, rather than for food preparation.
search | save | share at
When high profile New York interior
designer Jamie Drake designs a kitchen for
a client, he says the most important thing to
understand is how the homeowners are
actually going to use it.
So how did that play out when he
designed the kitchen for his own new
apartment?
“I never cook, but I do entertain a
lot,” he says. “And when I entertain, I use
caterers. Having kitchen space for food
preparation was not a big deal for me.
“I needed a kitchen that was much
more sculptural, that made a big statement,
and served my entertaining purposes.”
In all of Drake’s previous homes, he’d
never had an open kitchen. But one of the
things that attracted him to this particular
apartment was its enormous 9m square
living space.
“I wanted to maintain that, so having
an open kitchen here was a much more
appealing idea.”
While the large living area, 4.8m-high
ceilings and its park and Hudson River
views were all positives, there was one