French Bistro at Home

April 1, 2024

Delicious curves, dramatic contrasts and gleaming golds accentuate a renovation project in Kearney that’s dually functional and opulent.

Words by Andrea Glinn | Photos by Paul Bonnichsen

hen a young professional couple hired Kitchens by Kleweno to remodel the kitchen in their recently purchased home in Kearney, Missouri, their vision was a French-style bistro. They had already remodeled some other areas of the home, including the living room adjacent to the kitchen—now outfitted with Versailles-inspired black-and-white checkerboard floors—which they accessorized with an opulent, gilded gold floor mirror and a grand entry table displaying a gold vase with a plumage of white feathers. The Kleweno team took cues from this space when designing the new kitchen, but the changes they made were more than aesthetic.

While the kitchen’s footprint mostly stayed the same, Kleweno made several modifications to the layout that elevated the look and improved the function of the space. For instance, the laundry room behind the stove was transformed into a butler’s pantry. The wall behind the sink was extended so that the cabinets on either side of the window could be symmetrical. Lengthening the wet wall had another benefit, as well; doing so provided the bar with a niche to create its own distinct area rather than bleed over from the kitchen as it had before.

The powder room door was moved into the butler’s pantry to create an art wall rather than views of the water closet. And most notably, the cooktop was removed from the island, and the double wall ovens were replaced with a luxurious French dual-fuel CornuFé freestanding range, This modification allowed the island to become a place for gathering and the stove to be both a workhorse and an altar for a serious hobby chef.

As for the aesthetics, “the client said we hit the nail on the head,” says Randy Sisk, the owner of Kleweno.

The white backdrop of the kitchen allows the black items—the top-of-the-line stove, hood, fireplace and bar area—to draw your attention and the gold accents to shine as your eyes move about the space. Well-articulated and elegant, the space embodies both the character of the clients as well as the capabilities of Kleweno.

Designer: Kitchens by Kleweno, @klewenokitchens