Kitchen of the Week: Hardworking Style Holds Up to a Busy Family
A Utah designer helps a couple create an industrial-modern kitchen with durable yet playful materials
Jeannie Matteucci
April 19, 2019
Houzz Contributor. Home design writer and lifestyle reporter with a love for stylish spaces, smart lighting and a good decaf dry cappuccino.
Houzz Contributor. Home design writer and lifestyle reporter with a love for stylish... More
Ryan and Mindy Gledhill lead busy lives. She’s an indie-pop recording artist who frequently tours, he’s the CEO of a company that manufactures dietary supplements. Meanwhile, they’re raising three sons and two Portuguese water dogs and entertain often. So when they built their three-level hillside home in Provo, Utah, with great views of the Utah Valley, they knew it had to hold up to their fast-paced lifestyle.
For the kitchen, tiled floor and walls, a raw-wood-slat ceiling, gunmetal gray cabinets and plenty of metal piping create a hardworking modern-farmhouse-meets-industrial style that can handle anything the family throws at it. “I have three boys and things get dirty fast, so I didn’t want white,” Mindy says. “A lot of the choices we made for the house and this kitchen were for the boys and the dogs.”
For the kitchen, tiled floor and walls, a raw-wood-slat ceiling, gunmetal gray cabinets and plenty of metal piping create a hardworking modern-farmhouse-meets-industrial style that can handle anything the family throws at it. “I have three boys and things get dirty fast, so I didn’t want white,” Mindy says. “A lot of the choices we made for the house and this kitchen were for the boys and the dogs.”
Photos by Travis J Photography
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Ryan Gledhill, CEO of Intermountain Nutrition; his wife, Mindy Gledhill, an indie pop recording artist; their three sons; and two Portuguese water dogs
Location: Provo, Utah
Size: About 325 square feet (30 square meters)
Designer: Aubrey Smith of Aubrey Veva Design
The Gledhills worked with designer Aubrey Smith to come up with a durable design while bringing in hip, playful elements in line with the couple’s personalities. Graphic hexagonal floor tile, industrial pipe lighting, oversize drawer pulls, reclaimed wood ceiling and organic-shaped wood counter stools keep the kitchen from feeling too precious.
Reclaimed wood frames windows that look out to a breezeway and backyard patio that includes a dining area.
Going without upper cabinets keeps the kitchen open and airy. The custom lower cabinets and paneled refrigerator wall on the right, all made from poplar wood and painted a gunmetal gray (P32 Canon De Fusil, Flamant), feature antique brass hardware with a distressed finish.
The charcoal-painted door with transom window by the refrigerator opens to a spacious walk-in pantry with industrial shelves on three walls for storage of dry goods and small appliances.
Find a kitchen designer to help with your project
Kitchen at a Glance
Who lives here: Ryan Gledhill, CEO of Intermountain Nutrition; his wife, Mindy Gledhill, an indie pop recording artist; their three sons; and two Portuguese water dogs
Location: Provo, Utah
Size: About 325 square feet (30 square meters)
Designer: Aubrey Smith of Aubrey Veva Design
The Gledhills worked with designer Aubrey Smith to come up with a durable design while bringing in hip, playful elements in line with the couple’s personalities. Graphic hexagonal floor tile, industrial pipe lighting, oversize drawer pulls, reclaimed wood ceiling and organic-shaped wood counter stools keep the kitchen from feeling too precious.
Reclaimed wood frames windows that look out to a breezeway and backyard patio that includes a dining area.
Going without upper cabinets keeps the kitchen open and airy. The custom lower cabinets and paneled refrigerator wall on the right, all made from poplar wood and painted a gunmetal gray (P32 Canon De Fusil, Flamant), feature antique brass hardware with a distressed finish.
The charcoal-painted door with transom window by the refrigerator opens to a spacious walk-in pantry with industrial shelves on three walls for storage of dry goods and small appliances.
Find a kitchen designer to help with your project
A 4-foot-wide clearance surrounds the island, creating good traffic flow. Above, the custom light fixture, made from Edison bulbs hung from a pipe frame, continues the industrial theme.
The wood on the ceiling, reclaimed from an old mill in Tennessee, conceals a special feature. “Because I’m a musician, a high-definition sound system is built into the ceiling,” Mindy says. “We listen to music all the time. Lots of cooking and dancing goes on in here.”
The wood on the ceiling, reclaimed from an old mill in Tennessee, conceals a special feature. “Because I’m a musician, a high-definition sound system is built into the ceiling,” Mindy says. “We listen to music all the time. Lots of cooking and dancing goes on in here.”
This close-up view shows where the hexagon cement floor tile meets the reclaimed-wood floor in the dining room. Inspiration photos, including one from Houzz, guided Smith and the tile installer. “We did one section at a time, looked at it and made adjustments,” Smith says. “It really adds interest, is kind of funky and fits [Mindy’s] personality.”
Shop for graphic cement floor tile
Shop for graphic cement floor tile
The showstopping handcrafted La Cornue range with coordinating hood, which helped inspire other design details in the kitchen, includes five burners and two convection ovens. “It just seemed to fit the style of our house,” Mindy says. “It looks old-fashioned but still sleek.”
The microwave sits in the island base across from the range.
The microwave sits in the island base across from the range.
The roomy white apron-front sink keeps with the vintage vibe in the kitchen. The tall bridge faucet with antique brass finish acts like a piece of jewelry. “I like the taller the better, but sometimes too tall is a problem with splashing water,” Smith says. “You want to find the happy medium.”
The paneled dishwashers that sit on either side of the sink have pulls that coordinate with the antique brass hardware on the custom cabinets.
Shop for white apron-front sinks
The paneled dishwashers that sit on either side of the sink have pulls that coordinate with the antique brass hardware on the custom cabinets.
Shop for white apron-front sinks
The easy-to-clean high-gloss white ceramic subway tile and charcoal-colored grout provide a simple backdrop. “Because the floor is patterned, we wanted something not too busy,” Mindy says.
The honed Carrara marble countertops add richness and, Mindy hopes, eventually more character. “We wanted to keep it light and bright on top,” Smith says. “She didn’t want anything man-made, and loves if it gets distressed over the years.”
The fresh eggs in the basket are from the chickens the family raises on the property.
The fresh eggs in the basket are from the chickens the family raises on the property.
Pipes and reclaimed wood form industrial-style open shelving to the left of the sink. The shelves offer storage for everyday cups, dishes and plates, as well as plants that add a touch of green to the kitchen.
This floor plan shows the family-friendly open layout and its strong connection with the outdoors. “This kitchen offers the best of both worlds,” Smith says. “It’s open but still cozy.”
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More on Houzz
See more Kitchens of the Week
Gather kitchen design ideas to inspire your renovation
Find design professionals who can create your dream kitchen
Shop for kitchen materials and other products
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I love this floor solution to the problem of asymmetrical transitions. If they had gone straight across the room with the tile either the left side would stick out farther than the right or it would have been too short on the left if they began the tile on that side since the left side of the room is not as deep. I recently did this with a herringbone wood floor using marble tiles the same size and shape to continue continuity of pattern with functionality of tile in the kitchen vs wood which is more easily damaged by water.
What is not to love here? So beautiful and clever!! All the counter space with windows and so much light- perfect!! Very clever design. Love it.
Joyce McClain - my house has beautiful Calacatta marble in my kitchen and three bathrooms. It’s perfect for bathrooms. I loved it in the kitchen when we first moved in, and here comes my “but if I could change it” comment. What I didn’t realize and INTENSELY hate is the chipped edges around my farmers sink and the prep sink. You can have the marble flat countertops rehoned/polished and resealed but you can’t retouch the chips in the edges. Once they are gouged out they are there forever. To be fair, my large island is a beauty and is the focal point in our kitchen-great room. If I won the big lottery and could remodel my home I’d start in the kitchen and put in quartz countertops...anything other than marble. My architect tried to tell me but I wouldn’t listen.