“I WANT a traditional kitchen—but make it cool.” Today, younger, hipper homeowners are texting designers with such seemingly irreconcilable desires. They want a look they can relate to. The layered kitchen, a neo-traditional approach that artfully patches together materials and styles. Cabinets typically vary, too: Paint might coat the lower set, often Shaker style, while the upper set sports glass fronts edgily framed in blackened steel. Next to this look, the standard monolith of same-color cabinets seems as dated as a matching lipstick, blouse and pumps.

---

Persons: hipper, “ Downton, ”, Victoria Sass Organizations: Prospect Refuge Locations: Minneapolis