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Paradise Valley. While the name sounds like just the place for a dream kitchen renovation, for designer Emily Yeates, it was anything but. After closing on the circa-1980 Mediterranean hacienda with stunning views of the Arizona desert and Camelback and Mummy mountains, she was under the gun: Despite plans for a radical expansion of the original kitchen, she had offered up her house as the location for a big fundraiser for Oligo Nation, a nonprofit dedicated to brain tumor research, in just three months. And there could be no cutting of corners: The house was also going to serve as the calling card and company HQ for her interior design firm, Urban Revival.
With the pressure on and supply chains still snarled from the pandemic, Yeates was forced to “make bold, creative choices and source materials I might not otherwise have considered,” she says. Her laser focus was on twin goals: creating a working kitchen that really functions, and making a space that’s equally suited to family dinners and big events. Here, we break down exactly what makes this kitchen cook.
Details like custom marquetry on the Sub-Zero refrigerator, postmodern pendant lights from Arteriors, and a sculptural ceiling-mounted faucet from Kohler add up to something different. Grasscloth wallcovering, Annie Selke; marble tile, Floor & Decor.
JENNY FLYNN1. CREATE A SPACE APART
After years of open-plan kitchens, a clearly delineated cook space feels like a brand-new concept. Rather than hide this beauty away, however, Yeates declared the room the center of attention by framing it with a striking glass archway custom-made by Steel & Stone in Mesa, Arizona.
2. TRY SOMETHING UNEXPECTED
Yeates’s favorite party trick? Turning on the ceiling-mounted Purist Suspend faucet from Kohler. With the looks of a sculptural object, it keeps the counters clean—literally and visually. (“I never have to scrub the gunk around the handle,” says the designer.) And then there’s the copper snake hardware below the sink, sourced on Etsy, which nods to the local fauna (and Yeates’s own fierce taste).
Designer Emily Yeates of Urban Revival.
Girls at Flourish3. WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
Postmodern accents feel, well, modern when reinterpreted with a fresh point of view. Graphic pendant lights look like they’re borrowed from a Moholy-Nagy poster, while repeating rectangular shapes in the cabinets, hardware, and glass partition are a contemporary take on classical principles.
4. MAKE A CONNECTION
“Black is a captivating anchor,” says Yeates, who peppered ebony accents throughout the kitchen, providing a through line for materials like the white-oak cabinets, soft green quartzite counter tops, and tri-toned checkerboard marble floor.
5. MAKE IT ALL WORK
This is a kitchen that’s meant to be used, not just looked at, and there’s real beauty in that. A hardworking stainless-steel sink feels elevated thanks to an integrated apron front crafted out of the same durable quartzite as the counters. The island accommodates chairs that get pulled up for casual family hang time and then removed for extra prep space during events, revealing open shelving that can store plenty of easy-access plates in a place that’s well away from cooking messes.
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN VOLUME 17 OF FREDERIC MAGAZINE. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE!
