Luxury Kitchen Design in Denver, Colorado

Luxury Kitchen Design in Denver, Colorado

Luxury Kitchens offers luxury kitchen design in Denver for people who live in remarkable buildings: historic houses in the older neighborhoods east and southeast of downtown, new homes in the Highlands, and high-rise residences in Cherry Creek and Lower Downtown. Design, cabinetry, materials, appliances and lighting are planned together, so the finished room reads as part of the architecture instead of something installed inside it.

Few places in the region ask a kitchen to adapt to so many kinds of building. A 1920s Tudor, a brick Denver Square, a concrete tower with a strict set of house rules and a glass-fronted infill on a narrow lot have almost nothing in common, apart from the people who want to cook well in them. A kitchen designer in Denver has to start with the structure and its constraints, long before anyone talks about finishes.

Designing for Denver Means Designing for Very Different Buildings

The city's housing spans more than a century, and every era brings its own rules. A few are written down by a building association or a preservation office. Most are written into the walls.

Historic houses in Country Club, Washington Park and Congress Park

The older neighborhoods hold Tudor revival houses with steep gables and leaded glass, Mediterranean revival villas with plaster walls and tile roofs, Craftsman bungalows, and the Denver Square, a two-story brick box with a hipped roof and a broad front porch. Bonnie Brae and Hilltop add houses from several decades side by side. In many of these homes the original kitchen was a modest service room at the back, altered more than once since.

The design question is how far to open that room, and how new cabinetry can sit comfortably beside original trim, plaster and window proportions. A Tudor kitchen might take its door profiles from the existing casings and its upper cabinet line from the window heads. A Craftsman house may call for inset doors and quartersawn oak; a Mediterranean one may suit honed stone and a plastered hood.

Parts of the city, Country Club among them, lie within designated historic districts. There, exterior changes such as replacing windows or enlarging an opening generally go through design review, while interior kitchen work usually does not. If a plan includes a new window over the sink or a vent through an outside wall, confirm the requirements with the city before the design is settled.

Condominiums in Cherry Creek and LoDo

A kitchen renovation in a Denver high-rise begins with the building's rules, not the floor plan. Associations typically set approved working hours, require corridors, lobbies and elevator cabs to be protected, and ask for freight elevator time to be booked in advance. Everything delivered must fit that elevator, which governs how long a stone slab or a tall panel can be and where seams will fall.

The larger limits are invisible. Plumbing usually has to stay close to the existing stacks, so the sink and dishwasher cannot wander far. Exhaust may not be allowed to leave the building, which changes the ventilation strategy and, with it, how comfortably the household can sear or stir-fry. Concrete ceilings can restrict recessed fixtures, moving more of the light into the cabinetry itself.

Modern infill in the Highlands

New houses on the Highlands' narrow lots tend to be long and open, with the kitchen in the middle of a single volume that is visible from the front door to the back terrace. In that position the kitchen is furniture as much as equipment. Tall flush panels, a quiet island and storage that closes away the clutter of daily cooking matter more than any single material. Where large windows face west, strong low sun late in the day affects where stone, timber and lacquer can sit without glare or fading.

One altitude, every building

Whatever the building, the city sits at 5,280 feet. Water boils at a lower temperature, and gas ranges and cooktops are commonly set up for high altitude following the manufacturer's instructions, a detail to confirm when appliances are chosen. Winter air is very dry, so solid timber moves more than it would at sea level. Species, cut, construction and finish are all selected with that movement in mind.

Kitchen Design and Custom Kitchen Cabinetry in Denver

Six disciplines, planned together and adjusted to the building in question.

Denver Neighborhoods, From Country Club to the Highlands

Across Denver, CO, the neighborhoods below show the range of buildings described above, from preserved early twentieth-century interiors to entirely new construction. Beyond the city, the wider Front Range service area runs from Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.

• Country Club
• Washington Park
• Hilltop
• Bonnie Brae
• Congress Park
• Cherry Creek
• Lower Downtown (LoDo)
• The Highlands
• Belcaro
• Crestmoor

How a Denver Kitchen Project Begins

The first conversation covers the property, its architecture, how you cook and entertain, and the budget and schedule you are working within. For a condominium, it helps to have the building's renovation rules at hand from that first meeting. For an older house, design follows a survey of the existing structure, services and openings, because what the walls contain decides what the plan can do.

From there the work moves through concept, design development, documentation, craft and installation, each stage with a clear output. The seven stages of our process describe what happens at each point. When you are ready, tell us about the house and we can recommend how to proceed.

Questions About Kitchen Design in Denver