Home Cooking -- When She Leaves Her Restaurant Job She Comes Home To A Kitchen That Fits Her Personal Recipe

AT TERRY MURPHY AND Rosalie D'Amico's Woodinville home, the food is great, the service is friendly and the view's a delight. If they had enough tables, the pair could open a restaurant.

It wouldn't be the first time. D'Amico is a 21-year veteran of the restaurant trade, with a self-named cafe in downtown Seattle and an active consulting business.

But the hospitality side of her life used to end the minute she got home. The downtown condominium she and Murphy shared had a kitchen so small you could barely boil water, much less whip up some gourmet meals.

"The kitchen was such a joke we ate out five or six days a week," says Murphy, a software developer.

"There was no way to entertain," adds his wife.

The two shopped around for a house with a big kitchen that would allow D'Amico to socialize with her guests while she cooked. Unable to find what they wanted, they purchased a wooded, two-acre parcel, and asked Bainbridge Island architect Bernie Baker to design a new home for the site.

Captivated by the property's towering trees and sylvan glade, Baker devised a floor plan that oriented the main living spaces toward the sun and view, and relegated secondary spaces to a wing over the garage. The two parts are joined by a soaring, skylighted corridor that pierces the main structure at an angle, forming a "T" with a crooked top. One side of the corridor cradles the fan-shaped front steps; the other embraces a private terrace in back.

Baker positioned the kitchen at the end of the corridor, so that it dominates the interior like the pulpit of a church. There are no walls separating it from the dining area or living room, just an L-shaped cherry cabinet that culminates in a breakfast bar.

Baker, who had already designed a couple of restaurants for the owners, configured the kitchen like a commercial operation, with separate zones for prep, storage, cooking and cleanup. Nevertheless, D'Amico drew the line at trendy, commercial-style appliances. "I'm around that all day and didn't want to come home and have my house look like a professional kitchen, as well," she says.

A low butcher-block island in the center of the space allows the 5-foot-2-inch chef to chop vegetables or roll out dough without discomfort. A walk-in pantry eliminates the need for a lot of hard-to-reach hanging cabinets.

Despite their desire for more space, the owners were emphatic about keeping the house as small as possible, so they wouldn't have to spend all their free time maintaining it. Baker's initial designs were whittled down to 2,100 square feet, then executed by Whipple Construction of Issaquah.

D'Amico wanted plenty of light in the house. However, too much sun can trigger migraines in her mate, so Baker provided a cozy reading nook for Murphy in the master bedroom. The space shares a gas fireplace with the bathroom behind it. Despite such luxuries, the custom home ended up costing a moderate $220,000.

Seeking an alternative to conventional oak, the owners covered the floors with Merbau, a ruddy hardwood from Singapore. To counter the wood's warm reflection, Baker painted the ceilings a very pale lavender. Although the shade is nearly indistinguishable from the peach blush of the walls, the contrast between warm and cool colors helps sharpen the division between the two planes -a plus in homes like this where there's no ceiling trim.

They furnished the home from scratch, starting with a handsome reproduction dining table and chairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The furniture's handcrafted character is echoed in pieces designed by local artisans, including a custom-made tansu that complements the owners' collection of antique Japanese woodblock prints.

"I didn't necessarily feel like we had to have a house full of Japanese-style furniture," explains D'Amico. "But I felt like we had to have something that would be compatible with that and pull it all together."

Since moving into the house last August, Murphy and D'Amico find they're less stressed than they were in the city. Free time is often spent around the dining table, feasting with friends on D'Amico's seemingly endless repertory of recipes. It's safe to say that after building their restaurant in the woods, these two have no reservations.

Fred Albert reports regularly on home design for Pacific Magazine and other publications. Steve Ringman is a Seattle Times photographer. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Kitchen plans

Rosalie D'Amico knows her way around a kitchen, having worked in the restaurant business for the past two decades. Her tips for planning a home kitchen:

D'Amico swears by convection ovens for baking, and relishes the way her Sub-Zero refrigerator accommodates braising pans and large platters. But she cautions against buying unnecessary appliances, such as two wall ovens when you rarely use one.

More and more frequently, kitchens are being designed so they're open to the adjoining living spaces. In this situation, be sure to buy a dishwasher that's extremely quiet, like D'Amico's model, made by Bosch.

"Out of sight, out of mind" can apply to appliances, too. If you stick a food processor in an appliance garage or pantry, chances are good it will never get used. Put it on the counter instead.

Drawers are easier to use than cabinets because you don't have to stoop, reach, or lift quite so much. They're also usually cheaper to install than slide-out shelves hidden behind doors.

Overall kitchen lighting should be augmented by task lighting over work areas like the cooktop and island. -- Fred Albert