{"id":2289,"date":"2025-07-11T05:26:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T21:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/07\/11\/kitchen-of-the-week-practical-magic-in-phyllis-grants-berkeley-kitchen\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T05:26:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T21:26:19","slug":"kitchen-of-the-week-practical-magic-in-phyllis-grants-berkeley-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/de\/kitchen-of-the-week-practical-magic-in-phyllis-grants-berkeley-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"K\u00fcche der Woche: Praktische Magie in der Berkeley-K\u00fcche von Phyllis Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We love quiet minimalist kitchens, but we\u2019re equally enamored with heart-of-the-home kitchens, the kind of space that you can\u2019t imagine without also hearing the cacophony of pots banging, pencils scribbling, and kids running in and out. Phyllis Grant\u2019s Berkeley kitchen\u2014with its open shelving stocked with cooking tools; hard-wearing, no-nonsense building materials; and large butcher-block island designed for food preparation and SAT preparation alike\u2014falls into this everything-AND-the-kitchen-sink category.<\/p>\n

Not long ago we reached out to Phyllis, who amassed a legion of writerly foodie fans via her blog Dash and Bella, after spying her recently remodeled kitchen on Instagram. \u201cThis current kitchen is really the result of fifty years of kitchens,\u201d she tells us. \u201cThe kitchen has always been where I want to spend most of my time. When I was a little girl, I use to get up early and bake. In my twenties, I was a cook in New York City restaurants. And with my kids over the past seventeen years, I have cooked three meals a day in a very small kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

All the lessons she gleaned from a lifetime of obsessive cooking came in handy when she and her husband, Matt Ross (you may know him as comically mercenary Hooli CEO, Gavin Belson, on HBO\u2019s Silicon Valley<\/em>), embarked on their renovation: \u201cI knew about materials that could take all kinds of daily abuse from working in restaurant kitchens. I learned organization out of necessity from cooking in tiny kitchenettes,\u201d she says. What they ended up with is a practical and efficient kitchen that is also a warm and cozy command center for their family of four.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been in the new kitchen now for one and a half years, and I love it more and more every single day. At least once a day I exclaim, \u2018Oh wow, I feel so lucky to be in this space.\u2019 And, of course, my kids roll their eyes,\u201d shares Phyllis. \u201cBut it was such a satisfying process with such a usable result. Partly because it\u2019s so functional. Partly because it\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

And partly because the new kitchen is, poignantly, where her grandmother\u2019s kitchen once stood: Phyllis and Matt moved into the apartment above hers, in a 1906 house, about 17 years ago. When she passed away, they converted the house back to a single family house, opened up the original staircase, and built their dream kitchen. \u201cMy grandmother used to move through this space, making her tea and toast. It\u2019s nice to have her with me in the space,\u201d says Phyllis.<\/p>\n

Those years living above her grandmother is just one of the moving experiences she writes about in her book, Everything Is Under Control: A Memoir with Recipes<\/em>. It\u2019s an unflinching look at how the ebb and flow of her appetite has affected her life. And no less than Ruch Reichl has given it her stamp of approval: \u201cPhyllis Grant has the voice of a poet and the sensuality of a cook. This very brave book makes you want to experience the world with equal intensity. As for the recipes, they\u2019re completely irresistible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And so is her kitchen. Below, Phyllis gives us a tour.<\/p>\n

Photography by Thomas Story, courtesy of Phyllis Grant (follow @DashandBella on Instagram).<\/p>\n


Above: The kitchen is set up almost like a restaurant, with counter seating on one side of the island and cooking appliances on the other. \u201cOur architect, Donna Warrington, is a friend and a very experienced cook. So I went in with a certain amount of trust about her understanding the flow of a kitchen. Her husband, Tom Warrington, was our general contractor and a wonderful designer\/builder\/cabinet maker,\u201d says Phyllis.
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Above: \u201cMy priority was functional first. I need to be able to put hot pots on the counter. I need to be able to chop anywhere. I didn\u2019t want a cold restaurant kitchen, but i wanted to start with that idea.\u201d To that end, she chose stainless steel counters, with an integrated sink (no gunk buildup between the seams), and a long (12 feet!) maple butcher block island. She also set the counters higher than normal. \u201cHaving it one inch higher is just more comfortable on the back. You don\u2019t have to lean over quite as much.\u201d
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Above: Other restaurant kitchen-inspired touches include a speed rack (to the left of the stove), dedicated cubbies for rolling pins (to the right of the stove), and open shelving for easy access to tools. Phyllis notes that having open storage may not be for everyone. It requires \u201cweekly maintenance in the space.\u201d The quartet of pendant lights is from Schoolhouse. The upper cabinets are painted Kelly Moore\u2019s Apple White, the bottom painted Farrow & Ball\u2019s Off Black.,

Above: Tucked in among their silverware are some pieces from Phyllis\u2019s grandmother.
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Above: Among the storage features she\u2019s especially proud of: slatted wood vegetable drawers under the island for her stash of garlic, onions, and squash. Matt fought for the traditional Perrin & Rowe bridge faucet; Phyllis wanted a more industrial, restaurant kitchen-style faucet. \u201cHe comes from a more aesthetic point of view. The Perrin & Rowe brings in warmth and feels appropriate to the age of the house,\u201d she concedes. (See 10 Easy Pieces: Traditional Bridge Faucets.)
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Above: \u201cI don\u2019t have a junk drawer anymore!\u201d Considered storage nooks, like a shallow cabinet for ramekins and a slim drawer just for ice cream scoops, have done away with the need for one. The unlacquered drawer pulls are from Rejuvenation. \u201cI scrubbed them with a super fine steel wool and then soaked them overnight in white vinegar and salt. Did the same for the smaller pulls that were recycled from my grandmother\u2019s shutters,\u201d shares Phyllis.
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Above: Phyllis\u2019s friend, food photographer Erin Scott, advised her to get the bones of the kitchen right, then \u201cadd the flair later.\u201d Family photographs on the side of her fridge. (See Erin\u2019s kitchen here.)
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Above: \u201cThe pantry used to be grandma\u2019s bathroom. It gets the best northern light. I love sitting there. I write in there. I escape in there.\u201d The indoor\/outdoor runner is from Dash & Albert, the pillows from Annie Selke.
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Above: Just off the kitchen is the dining room. \u201cThe chairs are from Camino, our favorite Oakland restaurant that closed last year; a few others are vintage from Rejuvenation.\u201d Leaning against the wall are Phyllis\u2019 collection of cutting boards that she uses to create different backgrounds for her food photography.
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Above: Two needlepoint pieces, bearing famous quotes from a couple of Matt\u2019s favorite movies (from top,
\nPrincess Bride<\/em> und
\nWithnail and I<\/em>), are displayed above a bottle opener from Food52. <\/p>\n

For more on the home kitchens of chefs, see:<\/p>\n