{"id":2464,"date":"2025-10-16T20:06:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/10\/16\/kitchen-of-the-week-aya-bracketts-hippie-house-update-in-oakland\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T20:06:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T12:06:31","slug":"kitchen-of-the-week-aya-bracketts-hippie-house-update-in-oakland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/th\/kitchen-of-the-week-aya-bracketts-hippie-house-update-in-oakland\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0e2b\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e23\u0e31\u0e27\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e08\u0e33\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e1b\u0e14\u0e32\u0e2b\u0e4c: \u0e01\u0e32\u0e23\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e31\u0e1a\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e38\u0e07\u0e1a\u0e49\u0e32\u0e19\u0e2a\u0e44\u0e15\u0e25\u0e4c\u0e2e\u0e34\u0e1b\u0e1b\u0e35\u0e49\u0e02\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e2d\u0e32\u0e22\u0e32 \u0e41\u0e1a\u0e23\u0e47\u0e04\u0e40\u0e01\u0e47\u0e15\u0e15\u0e4c\u0e43\u0e19\u0e42\u0e2d\u0e4a\u0e04\u0e41\u0e25\u0e19\u0e14\u0e4c"},"content":{"rendered":"

When photographer Aya Brackett and her husband, Corey John Creasey, a freelance film director, wanted to upgrade the kitchen of their Oakland, California, home, they had to marry their modern sensibilities and utilitarian needs with the character of their \u201cfunky, hand-built\u201d house. \u201cIt\u2019s a hodgepodge,\u201d she says, built partly in 1895 and partly in the early 1980s. \u201cIt\u2019s very California, and very hippie.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, the kitchen had some major flaws: It was large but lacked counter space (\u201cwe were always fighting over one little spot by the stove,\u201d she says), and the walls were filled with rot and highways for ants. The previous owner had installed built-in storage hutches with deep, narrow shelves, making it difficult to locate essentials.<\/p>\n

With help from their contractor and cabinetmaker, the couple designed the new kitchen themselves. They retained the floor plan and added a new central island. They replaced the existing mismatched marble countertops with new white Calacatta, and swapped the impractical handmade storage hutches for built-in cabinets with accessible pullout shelves. They managed it all within budget and in under six weeks\u2019 time, something Brackett credits to her trusted contractor and cabinetmakers (Sallie Lang of Bliss Design and Ben Winslow and Michael Mellon of MWDB Design). \u201cWe knew it would be expensive,\u201d Brackett says, \u201cbut we had an agreed-upon budget with the cabinetmakers and let the contractor charge us what she needed to charge us.\u201d She trusted them to bill her fairly and work efficiently, and they did. Let\u2019s take a look at the finished product.<\/p>\n

Photography by Aya Brackett.<\/p>\n


Above: For the countertops, Aya chose white Calacatta marble with minimal veining. \u201cIt was very expensive, but we used every square inch of the slab we sourced,\u201d she says. Thinking of marble countertops? See Remodeling 101: The Difference Between Carrara, Calacatta, and Statuary Marble. <\/p>\n

Unfortunately Brackett experienced a snafu with her new marble countertops shortly after they were installed. The day before a photo shoot, an assistant used vinegar to clean the kitchen island. The marble \u201cwas etched terribly; it was covered in indelible water spots,\u201d Aya says. An estimate for professional repair came in at $1,500, but a marble polishing powder Brackett found online did the trick. \u201cWe rubbed it on for a long time and it fixed it completely; it was amazing,\u201d she said. She subsequently had the counter sealed to avoid further disasters.<\/p>\n


Above: Aya was initially thinking of light Scandinavian wood for the kitchen, but decided the tone wasn\u2019t in keeping with the character of the house. She wanted to avoid an orange hue, so she chose cherry, a wood that \u201cfeels right in the house.\u201d
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Above: The vintage George Nelson light over the dining table came with the house. <\/p>\n

About the marble, Aya says, \u201ceveryone warned us. It\u2019s beautiful, but it\u2019s so delicate.\u201d She\u2019s unsure whether she would choose it again, but the couple still loves it. \u201cWe\u2019re just not quite at the point where we\u2019re ready to let it get patinated yet.\u201d<\/p>\n


Above: Aya\u2019s father, Len Brackett, who owns a Japanese timber frame company called East Wind Inc. and studied in Kyoto as a temple carpenter, made the table of rare American chestnut from a fallen tree. It expands to seat 12: \u201cWe wanted a really big table so people can come over and eat dinner with us comfortably,\u201d she says.,<\/p>\n


Above: Economy measures: For the range backsplash, Brackett used leftover Heath tile and a $300 Z Line range hood from Amazon (over a $1,500 Miele model she\u2019d been admiring). Aya is a booster for open shelving. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice opportunity to look at the pottery that we like, and I don\u2019t think they get dusty. We use them constantly, so they\u2019re in rotation in our dishwasher.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n


Above: The counter backsplash is marble tile and the faucet is Concetto from Grohe. Aya admired a $2,000 sink before settling on this $300 utilitarian undermount by Kraus from Amazon. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t need to spend that much.\u201d The water damage to the original back wall meant that they needed to reframe it. \u201cThat was probably the most expensive and time-consuming part of the whole project,\u201d Aya says. They debated replacing the windows with a single, large window, but decided against it and painted the existing mullions in Benjamin Moore\u2019s Hale Navy. \u201cThere\u2019s a certain look to our house that we wouldn\u2019t have chosen, but it\u2019s kind of weird to try to modernize just small parts of the house.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Above: A blue door, also painted in Hale Navy, leads to a small room housing the refrigerator and the laundry. The separation doesn\u2019t bother Aya: \u201cThe fewer appliances we have to look at, the better.\u201d
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Above: Aya loves the antique-finish cabinet pulls from Mockett: \u201cThe tabs work so well,\u201d she says. \u201cYou never need to touch the wood, so it stays clean.\u201d
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Above: The cabinet fronts are veneer, sliced from a single cherry tree for consistency.
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Above: The new pantry has wide, shallow, pullout shelves that hold provisions and dishware.
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Above: A pass-through window connects the kitchen to the living room. \u201cIt\u2019s a strangely cozy element,\u201d Aya says. <\/p>\n

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Above: The previous owner had installed large armoire-style cabinets that were \u201cpretty and country-home, but not quite our style,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

See more of Aya Brackett\u2019s work in:<\/p>\n