Name: Daniel Lowe
Location: Hollywood- Los Angeles, CA
Kitchen size: 9 feet X 17 feet (but it's a loft, so feels like half the loft is the kitchen or living / social space)
Last month at Apartment Therapy we got an awesome tour of Daniel Lowe's incredible converted loft. Today take a peek at his custom designed kitchen. Lending its style to a more traditional approach, it truly warms up this ultra modern space and open floor plan.
The original kitchen was your standard modern boxy stainless steel kitchen, seen in most loft homes, but Daniel really brought a new style to this space. When you have an open floor plan anything is possible.
One of my favorite elements about this loft was that Daniel made great use of space. He really approached his loft as a home, bringing tons of elements together. The island for a kitchen and the stools on one end make for a great casual dining option. I love the classic all-white cabinetry and dishes too.
10 Questions for Daniel (and His Kitchen)
1. What inspires your kitchen and your cooking?
I think because I choose to have such a white kitchen, the food ends up being the centerpiece. Therefore, it becomes all about bold colors, spices, and recipes to really stand out against the white "blank canvas."
2. What is your favorite kitchen tool or element?
My favorite tool would hands down be my retro green Waring Pro Blender. I got it when I lived in New York, and rarely used it. I now use it everyday to make smoothies, and am beginning to worry that I am going to destroy the blade.
3. What's the most memorable meal you've ever cooked in this kitchen? The most memorable meal I cooked in this kitchen is actually the first meal I made in it. I made brown rice with chicken for my mom and myself. We had just been to Cafe Habana in Malibu where they use achiote in their rice so I wanted to try it (by the way if you have never been to Cafe Habana in Malibu or New York you have not experienced heaven on earth). I did not know that it has to be ground down to a powder or used as a paste. Needless to say we were spitting out little kernels of achiote for the whole meal...and it tasted awful. However the kitchen has been great for a lot of meals: Arroz con pollo, tinga de pollo, baked sweet potato fries, and homemade protein bars to name a few.
4. The biggest challenge for cooking in your kitchen:
The biggest challenge is the vacuum machine (my dog) that insists on being at my feet whenever I cook in hopes of something falling to the ground for him to eat.
5. Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
I wish I had lit the glass front cabinets from the inside and had glass shelves so that the plates would glow at night.
6. What was your biggest indulgence or splurge in the kitchen?
My Dornbracht faucet. I fell in love with it when i first saw it and had to have it. it was about $1000 more than the next most expensive faucet, but in my opinion it made the entire kitchen come to life, especially with the contrast of a "traditional" looking kitchen and a super contemporary faucet.
7. Is there anything you hope to add or improve in your kitchen?
One day it would be nice to have one of those glass door Sub-Zero refrigerators. My OCD would love that because I would always have to keep the inside neat and organized.
8. How would you describe your cooking style?
Currently...Health Nut. It's tricky finding new ways to make healthy food taste good. Sweet potatoes with coconut oil, cinnamon, and cumin baked in the oven is my current addiction!
9. Best cooking advice or tip you ever received?
My trainer told me to put cinnamon on my chicken so my house would smell good. If you ever make shredded chicken, put a lot of cinnamon in it when it's boiling; it tastes AMAZING.
10. What are you cooking this week?
I usually cook large batches two to three times a week to last the entire week. This week I am making pan-roasted chicken with sides of broccoli, turkey burgers with vegetables and a half an avocado, sweet potatoes with coconut oil, cinnamon, and cumin, and finally bell peppers stuffed with ground turkey meat topped with a small amount of arrabiata pasta sauce, so good and really healthy as well! Also a daily smoothie filled with amazingness (Isofelx Peanut Butter Chocolate Whey Protein, No Sugar Added Frozen Bar of Acai, 7 Strawberries, 1 Cup of OJ, 1 banana, 5 pieces of Ice...I said I had OCD!)
Resources of Note:
• Designed in conjuncition with Hollywood Sierra Kitchens
• Viking Appliances (Refrigerator, Stove, Microwave, Dishwasher)
• All-Clad Cookware
• Wusthof Knives
• Williams-Sonoma Cutting Board
• Caesarstone Countertops
• Waterworks Ceramic Tile Backsplash
• Dornbracht Faucet
• Waterworks
• Cuisinart Mixer
• Waring Pro Blender
• Mitrani Apron Sink
• Dishes and Glasses and such from Crate and Barrel
• Apothecary Jars from Crate and Barrel
• Stools from Restoration Hardware
• Vintage Pendant Lights from Cisco Home
• Chrome Latch Hardware (provided by Hollywood Sierra Kitchens)
• All Other Hardware from Restoration Hardware
• Dog Bowls from Paul Smith
• Beverage Center from Costco
Visit Daniel online daniellowe.com dlowe72.com collectivelosangeles.com
Thanks, Danny!
(Images: Bethany Nauert)
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BEAUTIFUL!!!
I have the same make of vacuum as you, Daniel. My little Boston thinks he has to move right along with me all through the kitchen. I am always terrified any time I am cooking with onions or raisins that he is going to beat me to anything that gets dropped.
I L O V E it!
This kitchen is delicious! It is almost excatly what my dream kitchen feels like in my imagination. Good work!
Love it! And especially your socks!
Belfast sink-check.
Industrial pendant lights-check.
Glazed white tiles-check.
RH Gilmore drawer pulls-check.
Why do all the high-end kitchen remodels I've seen lately look so much alike?
Your kitchen is beautiful.. Do you happen to know white paint color and brand used on cabinets?
I love it! White, black and glass and lots of light. I agree about the glass shelves and a glass door Sub-Zero would be even more perfect. Great job!
He looks too young to have enough money to do such a great kitchen. Sigh.
Love the open floorplan.
omg, this is basically my dream kitchen. damn you daniel! you better appreciate that kitchen and take good care of her!
Drooooool. Usually I don't like such stark colors, but there's no denying this is gorgeous!
Fabulous....to die for !!!
This is a VERY sexy and handsome kitchen. Out goes the stainless steel finally:-)
Cosco home... do they have a specialty home store in LA. If so I am jealous :-)
@catherineap, I had exactly that reaction but was loath to post it. Thank you.
What color white are the cabinets and white walls? Are they the same? I've been wanting to do white on white, but was afraid it would be too much white -- but this looks great!
Really beautiful. Dream kitchen.
I'll do the washing up when you invite me for dinner. Such a calm kitchen. Love it.
It feels like the mom is the interior designer from Connecticut and ran this project. The kitchen does not reflect the personality of the owner AT ALL, and maybe his wallet - unless he is an actor and makes gazillion of $$$. Or this could be the parents investment and he lives in it.. we do not know all the details...
For the people who are wondering who this guy is and how he has the money to have the home he has, just see the linked House Tour of his entire place. It's got his website linked.
Also, the House Tour includes information like what color paint was used on the walls.
If that doesn't give you all the info you want, then commence kvetching. But at least do a little legwork first.
I, too, splurged on that same Dornbracht faucet. I can't find anyone else who has one to ask this question: Do you find that you have to "jam" the faucet back into the holder when you're finished using it or is the spring tight enough it wants to lock back in place easily? I feel like mine needs some viagra! :( Otherwise, I LOvE it!
sorry for the delay on responses to all your questions and comments...
@JOLENE13 they are a good vacuum type even though we complain about them. also helps me not eat a lot of things he can't!
@HERRINGTON44 i don't know the specific color of the cabinets since its custom to the shop where they were made. the guys over at hollywoodsierra.com might know if you email them and ask about danny's white cabinet color. the walls are douglas edward i believe and something like superior white
@TETEGRONDONA i would hope i don't have a live in house keeper! its a loft with no walls so that would get awkward. when you have a dog who eats anything off the floor you have to keep the floors clear and i don't have that much counter/shelf space. plus it was cleaned the day before the shoot and i put stuff away as well. they didn't show the pictures on at of my closet with all the shoe boxes and clothes stuffed in there to show the mess.
@BOWIECHIC anytime! :)
@ANUSHA73 my mom is a mexican from texas and lives in arizona, so connecticut is a little far fetched. I went to art school in new york and after 8 years there and working in the advertising world for 4 of them on primarily fashion sites i got a lot of inspiration. They wouldn't have shot the place for both apartment therapy and thekitchn if i hadn't designed it myself, thats the whole point. Take visual snapshots of inspiration from what others have done to their place, money shouldn't factor into inspiration, and recreate it yourself in your own way and make it your own. Plus it would be a little embarrassing for a designer to have to pay someone to design his own space.
@STORMI hope you liked my site :)
@MOMOF3SONS i had a problem with the faucet when i first got it and apparently it was a dornbracht wide issue where an o ring caused it to leak and not work properly / latch on correctly. dornbracht sent a new ring and since then it has worked perfectly
@VISUAL SENSES ordered it off costco's website, there is no special one here. we in LA shop at the normal one just like everyone else :)