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Jessie Randall isn’t afraid to admit that she couldn’t have redesigned her Bridgehampton, New York, kitchen alone. Sure, as the founder and creative director of fashion brand Loeffler Randall, she knows the perfect proportions for a puffed sleeve and how long to make the strap on a leather cross-body bag. But as for where to orient her stove? She needed to call for backup.
Luckily, help found her: Interior designer Zoe Feldman happened to be seated across from Randall at a dinner party in Washington, D.C., one fateful evening last year. Over text the very next day, Randall vented to Feldman: She had hated her black counters for nearly a decade and was stumped by the vastness of the adjacent dining area. Feldman started to envision how they could make the space more her. “I have a very strong sense of what I like, which is why I’ve been reluctant to get involved with a designer, but I could have never come up with this kitchen without Zoe,” says Randall.
Working alongside Randall’s contractor, Phil Pape of Pape Construction, Feldman’s first piece of advice was to make the kitchen more prominent by expanding the island and relocating the appliances. “She was like, we’re moving the stove,” shares Randall. “I didn’t even know you could do that.” Read on to see how they brought the fashion designer’s long-awaited kitchen to life.
Define an Open-Concept Space With Textured Floor Tile
There was no question that the existing kitchen floors were banged up. The dilemma was, if Randall were to replace one section of boards, would she have to replace the ones that span into the living room, too? “All of a sudden, I could see the numbers ticking up to something very scary,” she says. Feeling inspired by a trip she had taken with her design team to Marrakech years ago, she decided to redo the cooking zone in checkered zellige tile from Mosaic House. The large-scale pattern is white and sky in 4-by-4 squares; the border is Dama Corner in white and green.
Not only did opting for a fresh material create a natural sense of separation between the kitchen and the rest of the house, but by adding a border, it made the addition of the extra-large island look intentional. “I love that it’s so imperfect,” Randall says of the inherent undulations and color variations in the tile. Other than a handful of pieces that shattered when they installed the fridge, it’s held up nicely. “I love the way it feels under my feet—it’s nice and cool in the summer,” she adds.
Don’t Judge a Paint Color by Its Name
Originally, Randall’s plan was to swathe her new cabinets by Unique Kitchens & Baths in subdued French Gray. “Then I just had this epiphany: no, I need a crazy green kitchen,” she says. After many panicked calls to her designer, Randall committed to a different Farrow & Ball hue: Pea Green. “Which I don’t think is an accurate representation of what the color is,” she points out. The shade is much brighter and crisper than the soupy yellowish shade that automatically comes to mind when you hear those two words. Wanting details in the millwork, like the scalloped trim along the island, to be the star, Feldman suggested saturating the knobs in the same color, too.
Let Your Wardrobe Inspire Your Walls
Long before she hired an interior designer, Randall took a stab at adding some charm to the space by wallpapering the inside of her glass upper cabinets. When Feldman came into the picture, they took things a step further by covering all the walls in a print from the Loeffler Randall x Temple Studio collaboration, which uses florals from her brand’s ready-to-wear collection. “The quality paper it’s printed on…it looks like it was hand-painted on the wall,” says Randall.
Stitch Together a Cozy Kitchen Sofa
Even when there are no beach snacks to prepare or barbecues to host, you’ll still find Randall in here. “I don’t really go in my living room,” she says. Instead she likes to lie down and relax in the kitchen atop a modular Sixpenny sofa, and she’s usually got company. “My dogs get up there and they chew everything,” she adds. To protect the piece of furniture, she made a removable slipcover out of two king-size Les Indiennes bedspreads. She also DIYed the fabric skirt underneath the sink out of Svenskt Tenn fabric she picked up in Sweden.
Hang More Than Just Pots
Accessorizing a kitchen to Randall means having her entertaining ware out on full display. There is a dedicated rack for her ever-growing plate collection, spanning pieces by Kaneko Kohyo, Pomelo Casa, and Carolina Irving & Daughters, as well as one for all her taper candles. Randall scooped up a slew of colors from Danica Design Candles in Maine, knowing she’d be burning them (almost) around the clock. “My friends and I were in Copenhagen last June and even during the day in the summer, they would have candlelight,” says Randall. “It was a lightbulb moment for me: I had never considered using candles during the day.” Even lunchtime feels special thanks to this addition.
