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THE SAVOIR FAIRE
Georgetown, DC Showroom
“A study in balance, this kitchen marries tradition and modernity with quiet confidence.
White lacquer meets warm oak, softened by stone and the hush of tone-on-tone design.
It’s familiar in comfort and in warmth, yet it surprises in its details.
This is savoir-faire, the skill of making the timeless feel new, and the refined feel like home.”
Made to Linger
Not every kitchen is meant to make a big statement. Some are just meant to make you feel instantly at home.
At the front of the Washington showroom, the Savoir-Faire kitchen sets the tone with intention. Where the Lifestyle kitchen operates as a design manifesto—precise, architectural, deliberately bold—the Savoir-Faire takes a quieter approach. It asks something different of the people who enter it: to stay, sit down, and imagine a Tuesday morning with a slow cup of coffee and the particular pleasure of nowhere to be.
Between Two Worlds
The design sits between traditional and contemporary, in a deliberate balance where these two references coexist without hierarchy, allowing the space to live somewhere between styles rather than within one. A soft white lacquer anchors the palette; white oak brings warmth where it matters. Together, they produce something harder to achieve than it looks: a kitchen that feels immediately accessible, yet deeply considered.
Designed for Daily Life
The layout centers on an island with a built-in banquette—an unusual choice that shifts the kitchen from a place of production to a place of gathering. Encased in white oak columns with softly rounded molding, the banquette, upholstered in a deep, textured bouclé, becomes both architectural and intimate, reinforcing the kitchen as a lived space shaped by daily rituals rather than a purely functional one.
On the right wall, a large custom piece reads as a single piece of furniture when closed—an intentional nod to the freestanding kitchen cabinets of old English or Québécois farmhouses. Once open, it reveals something entirely different: a warm alcove defined by softly colored tile, subtle pink undertones, and the natural grain of wood. Lighting shifts here as well, with puck fixtures replacing linear LEDs and casting a more diffused, intimate light. This secondary moment reinforces the kitchen’s underlying philosophy. It is not about perfection or strict alignment, but about creating a space that feels lived in, adaptable, and human.
Soft Lines, Strong Foundation
The main wall draws the eye immediately, anchoring the composition through materiality. Clad entirely in Taj Mahal quartzite across countertops and backsplash, this premium natural stone from Brazil is prized for its durability, warm tone, and ability to bridge styles. The backsplash is framed within a clean architectural lip, giving the stone a defined space to exist in.
Cabinetry departs from expected typologies. Rather than a traditional shaker, the Tokyo door is a more refined profile that introduces texture and depth, contributing to a composition that feels layered rather than ornamental. Rounded details echo this sensibility, appearing across columns, cabinetry, and hood not as a dominant theme but as a recurring gesture. There is something inherently organic about a rounded edge that softens linearity without insisting on perfection.
Where People Linger
The Savoir-Faire kitchen does not challenge. It welcomes. And in doing so, it makes the case that restraint and warmth are not opposing forces, that the most considered spaces are often the ones that ask the least of you and give back the most. It has become, by quiet consensus, the place where people linger, where meetings are held, where conversations run long. Not because it was designed to be impressive, but because it was designed to be comfortable.
Details
/ Exterior #1 | Lacquer Collection | Nebulous White
/ Exterior #2 | Wood Collection | PE White Oak | AJ401
/ Interior | Essential Collection | White
/ Doors & Front | Tokyo
/ LED | Warm 3000 | Black profiles
/ Hinges | Blum Soft Close
/ Drawer Slides | Hettich Avantech You in White
/ Handles #1 | Schaub | 211018LB Turino knob
/ Handles #2 | Schaub | 21022LB Turino 6″ pull
/ Countertop & Backsplash | Cosentino Sensa | Quartzite | Taj Mahal
/ Coffee Bar Backsplash | Architessa | 4×4 Tangier Desert White Glossy Nouveau Wall Tile
/ Main Sink | Blanco | Soft White | B527403
/ Coffee Bar Sink | Blanco | Soft White | B527404
/ Main Faucet | Brizo | Luxe Gold | 62543LF-GL
/ Coffee Bar Faucet | Brizo | Luxe Gold | 61043LF-GL
/ Cooktop | Gaggenau | VG491211CA
/ Cooktop | Thermador | T24UR905DP
/ Wall Lights | Luminaire Authentik | YOKO 0806 | Matt Sand | Opal glass Frosted
/ Pendant Light | Luminaire Authentik | YOKO 3010 | Matt Sand | Opal glass Frosted | Wire Cafe Fabric
/ Banquette Fabric | Kravet | Sensual Boucle | 36782-111 Cream
