Great American Kitchens

The locale was a Houston warehouse filled with antiques and salvaged architectural items. The time was not long after Hurricane Katrina. Barbara Claiborne was searching for historic elements to incorporate into the rebuilding of her family's New Orleans house, flooded by the hurricane. Across the cavernous space, she felt the magnetic pull of a set of 19th century French aqua-blue panels.

"Aqua is my favorite color,"she explains. "And those panels immediately reminded me of the blue waters of Pass Christian, where we also lost our vacation home. My husband, Martin, and I had seen old panels used to cover refrigerator doors in the home of our friend architect R. Stephen Chauvin, and knew those would be a great focal point in the kitchen."

The floor plan of the Claiborne's brick Louisiana colonial-style home, built in the 1970's was typical of the time, with many separate rooms. "After the hurricane, the Claibornes wanted to give the first floor a more spacious feel by opening the kitchen to the great room," says Chauvin.

By removing and moving walls, installing ceiling beams, columns, and kitchen cabinets, as well as applying a liberal dose of white paint, he gave the first floor an airy, contemporary feel. The blue-green slate floors that unify the rooms were the only usable structural component remaining after the first floor was gutted to the studs. Carefully matching new slate with old provides the house with an important sense of pre-storm continuity.

"I like a kitchen to blend seamlessly into the house and don't like appliances to be too predictable," says Chauvin. "They should add an element of surprise." The architect often incorporates antique and salvaged pieces in his work. "Sub Zero not only offers the best refrigeration, but also provides the most options for integrating it into the design."

Both owners and architect praise carpenter Lee Blum for his deft transformation of antique panels into refrigerator doors. The panels also inspired the arches on the pantry and wall cabinet doors. However, Chauvin admits that it was a challenge to get them well proportioned on the smaller doors.

The Claibornes also wanted to create comfortable living-dining space for their family, which includes three sons, that would blend old and new. With this in mind, they called on decorator Tara Shaw, who supplied the salvaged French panels. In the breakfast room, Shaw reused the only first-floor furniture to survive the storm; a Mario Villa metal dining set. This required refinishing the table and chairs and replacing the glass tabletop. A new banquette blends easily with an antique chandelier and Oushak rug.

The key to a successful living area, says Shaw, "is furniture that compels you to come in and sit down." In the Claiborne's great room, she mixed the straight lines of a contemporary golden-taupe velvet sofa and chairs with substantial Louis XIV armchairs. Pale blue tones in the needlepoint upholstery and the blue-and-gilded finish of the chair arms and legs echo the blue refrigerator panels.

Chauvin added a Sub-Zero wine-storage unit and icemaker to the great room's wet bar, providing another opportunity to reference the homeowner's favorite color. The natural color of the wet bar's glass walls plays off the refrigerator's aqua-blue panels and the blue of the swimming pool glimpsed outside.

The light, bright interior reflects the Claiborne's resolute and optimistic spirit. Barbara echoes her family's passion for their native city, plus that of so many others, when she says, "People here really love New Orleans and want to bring it back." Diana King

Old Made New Again

"A mix of old and new creates depth in a home," says Tara Shaw, decorator and owner of Tara Shaw, Ltd., the Houston antiques warehouse where the Claibornes found the panels. (She also owns one in New Orleans.) "Bring your imagination to antique stores, architectural salvage warehouses, estate and yard sales, and even the internet," notes Shaw. (Architect R. Stephen Chauvin suggests www.1stdibs.com.) "Antiques were originally made to be used," adds Shaw. A great craftsman can modify an item and bring it into the twenty-first century. When a client is considering antique panels and doors to front refrigerator doors, Chauvin advises taking careful measurements. Also look for pieces with natural breaks for drawer openings, such as above or below molding. Old door knockers, brackets, pulls, and other hardware can also make fabulous accents.