The Right Stuff

This Southern California kitchen stays crisp and fresh while being warm and welcoming.

- LAUREN HOFER

When empty nesters

Laura and Dennis Marchese started renovations on this 1946 cottage in Orange, California, they wanted to update the home’s choppy layout and create a space where they could enjoy cooking, gathering with friends, and simply living. They had spent two years looking for the perfect cottage in the quaint downtown, and saw the potential in this space immediately. “Since it’s a small house and you can see the whole living and kitchen area when you walk in the front door, it was important to us to get all of the details right,” says Laura.

OUT WITH SOME OLD