That saying about the kitchen being the heart of a home is indisputable for a professional cook.

When Shannon Eddings was hired by Amy, the pastry chef-owner of this family home in Austin, Texas, she was presented with a wishlist of non-negotiables. At the top was a hard-wearing countertop, and a home for every single one of her utensils and gadgets. “It was fun because Amy knew exactly what she wanted,” says Shannon.

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The kitchen could have skewed hyper-utilitarian, but the Expert wanted to ensure that it felt “timeless and interesting, with a mix of materials.” So she sought inspiration from classic English kitchen designs: “I’m influenced by the way they’re never standard or predictable,” she says.

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This layered approach sees the refrigerator integrated behind large walnut doors alongside cream-painted cabinetry. The capacious tongue-and-groove island, painted in Benjamin Moore’s Enchanted Forest, provides another point of difference. Shannon favors using natural stone wherever possible, but the client preferred indestructible Caesarstone for prepping food, so a Collina marble backsplash made for a good compromise.

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The key ingredient in keeping the kitchen airy was the newly created butler’s pantry. In the same way that a sous-chef acts as a head chef’s tenacious right hand, this small but mighty space is the kitchen’s engine. Packed with storage for glassware and baking trays (and topped with handsome soapstone), it was created at the expense of an existing powder room. “Sacrificing it got them a bigger mudroom, too,” explains Shannon. “It’s quite unique to lose a bathroom in a house, but that’s what they valued more.”

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With three young boys under six in the mix, ample space for shoes and coats was paramount, as was choosing sofas with performance fabrics from big-box stores that could handle an assault of snacks and movie nights. Shannon operated a “high-low” method throughout the ground floor, offsetting budget-friendly upholstery with more elevated drapery from the likes of Jasper and Décors Barbares. But it wasn’t solely about catering to the little ones: Dad, an amateur musician, wanted a space to rock out with his friends. And so, a library was swapped out for a dedicated studio complete with soundproofing.

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This gregarious couple enjoys hosting and now have an atmospheric dining room that rivals going out to a restaurant. Drenching the wainscoting and ceiling in Dark Walnut by Benjamin Moore alongside House of Hackney’s Plantasia wallpaper ticked off the desire for a moody space. To bring in some tension, Shannon dotted the lighting around the room with chartreuse lampshades. “It felt like a fun play-off,” she says.

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Once dinner is over, guests retire to the bar in the living room, where a little encouragement was needed to paint the custom millwork cobalt blue. “We had to push for that,” explains Shannon. “The living room is huge and opens to the kitchen and the breakfast nook, but with 40-foot ceilings, it's hard to paint the walls in a bold color. The bar provides that bit of personality.”

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The primary bedroom is also a soft spot of Shannon’s as it features her favorite color combo: “Green and yellow are my go-tos, but people often prefer blues and cool colors. It’s a bit of an oasis.” The adjoining bathroom was calling out to be rescued from its tired, ‘Texas Tuscan’ decor. Slat panelling provides texture while a dark tile floor channels classic elegance. The Expert even got carte blanche to liberally garnish upstands and trims with Carrara marble. “Amy studied at a cookery school in Paris, and that probably helped influence her decision… I always find clients are more likely to use marble if they've lived in or spent time in Europe,” she says.

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