Christine's Country Kitchen

[michelej1]

This is from the September 15, 1985 Los Angeles Times. I don't have the actual article or I would post the picture.

HEADLINE: NOTEWORTHY REMODEL

BYLINE: By VIRGINIA GRAY

BODY:

It's not a textbook copy of a country kitchen from Christine McVie's native England; nevertheless, the rock singer of Fleetwood Mac and, more recently, of solo renown definitely wanted a bit of country-English flavor remodeled into her Beverly Hills cooking center. McVie's interior designer, Mary Armstrong Crane ASID, called upon architect Ron Stevens AIA to rework the area to provide for a skylighted breakfast area and a sunny, adjacent at-home office. Stevens removed the exterior wall of the kitchen to create the extra space for the specified rooms. The remodeled kitchen is large, efficient and attractive, with lots of counter space and cabinets aplenty for storage of foodstuffs, cookware and small countertop appliances. The new pine cabinets are finished with the look of antique pine; the same wood is featured on the surfaces of the major appliances, allowing them to blend into the scheme of things. The breakfast nook -- a favorite spot for casual eating any time of the day -- features a whitewashed rock wall, and French doors that open to the outside and into McVie's new office-studio. The floor of the breakfast nook is paved with brick. The doors have Roman shades that control light. There's an oval-shaped table and pine chairs; a nearby pine dresser contains a collection of china. Above the table is a custom-made stained-glass lamp. For the center of the kitchen, Crane specified a large island that contains a telephone desk, a cooktop and a maple butcher-block work surface. Above the island is a range hood, stuccoed and trimmed with wood that matches the cabinetry. Kitchen flooring is oak. Overhead lighting is recessed into the beamed ceiling. The latest in appliances and under-cabinet lighting is very much in evidence. McVie spends a great deal of time on the road. "But when I am home," she says, "I love to try my hand in the kitchen -- mostly cooking something that's considered very, very British, such as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding."VIRGINIA GRAY

GRAPHIC: Photo, Rock star Christine McVie, above left, called upon interior designer Mary Armstrong Crane ASID to spearhead the remodel of her Beverly Hills kitchen. Crane asked architect Ron Stevens AIA to design the plans that incorporated the new breakfast nook. The kitchen features the latest in appliances as well as recessed and under-cabinet lighting. Tile on the counters is from Altman's, Los Angeles; the stained-glass fixture above the breakfast table is from Peacock Alley. The quilts are from the Gazebo of New York, Beverly Hills. The flowers are from The Flower Basket, Studio City. The dinnerware, table linens and kitchenware are all from the May Co. , GEORGE R. SZANIK