Helen Brandt came up with a very simple solution to a fairly common syndrome:  How to get her husband into her favorite room, the kitchen.  “For years I’ve been trying to coax him into spending more time in the kitchen, but with little success.  So early on, while were still in the building stages, we made him a personalized seating area right next to the hearth.  We actually had him try it out, and we molded the adobe to his body.  The whole idea was to get him to feel so relaxed and comfortable that he’d find himself hard put to leave.”

            Perched high in the mountains and mesas of New Mexico, the Brandt house’s kitchen strongly reflects its roots – from the adobe and the carved “lighting” and “cloud” designs on the cabinet fronts and striking wrought-iron pot rack to the collection of brown Navajo pottery atop the refrigerator and ovens.  Lila DeWindt, an architect in Brandt’s office, handled all the detailing for the kitchen.  It was she who suggested these traditional New Mexican designs and carried them into the cabinetry throughout.

            The unusual sage color scheme was not inspired, as one might expect, by the view of the mesa from the kitchen sink:  It had a much more practical inspiration – the Thermador line of blue-green appliances that the owners found and soon decided to use as a color scheme for the entire room.

            The meticulously thought-out space in the Brandt kitchen is the secret to what makes it all work.  Because this room is the hub, the practical and aesthetic spatial planning had to be absolutely perfect. 

            “We have guests here,” says Helen, “and the layout was planned with informal entertaining in mind.  Helen discovered that in planning a kitchen with a Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer, one must consider clearance space for the massive doors.  The center island with the requisite second sink is the anchor for the work zone but has plenty of walk-around space.  The relaxed seating area near the fireplace adds another dimension.  The well-organized storage space, which helps keep the countertops free from clutter, is found behind cabinets, in slide-out drawers, under counters, and in three well-situated appliance garages.  Helen found that people love to be involved in the kitchen.  “Everyone gravitates to this room.  Not only can it handle them, but I believe that when guests are in the kitchen, whether zipping around and helping out or watching it all come together, it make them feel more actively involved in the rest of the house.”

            To integrate all the areas, the Brandts laid a gray and greenish-blue slate floor, which unites the dining, work and serving areas visually.  The speckled desert hues of the Avonite countertop pull the island and the eighteen-foot-long counter perceptively together.