Create the Look: Lance Armstrong's Kitchen

There's a good reason Lance Armstrong's kitchen is so comfortable and inviting. This is not merely a showplace, but the heart of a family home where the cycling superstar is raising children (he shares amicable joint custody of three young children with his former wife), and where he plans to live until his kids graduate from high school.

"Dad's not moving again," Armstrong told his kids, as was first reported in Architectural Digest (their original story contains almost a dozen photos of Armstrong's amazing estate).

At first glance the kitchen seems luxurious beyond most people's budget, with stately stainless steel pendant lights, slab stone counters and a dramatic beamed ceiling.

However, if you break the kitchen down into components, many of the features are well within the budget and abilities of a talented DIYer. Consider how some of these changes to a typical kitchen could give you the look of Lance Armstrong's cozy retreat.

Let's take a closer look at how to make the following features your own:


• Faux wood beams on ceiling
• Banquette in kitchen
• Pendant lights hung over island or peninsula
• Inlaid tile floor in working area
• Shelf above windows for family photos



FAUX WOOD BEAMS

You may think those are heavy wooden beams in Armstrong's kitchen, but that's not necessarily so. Unless these are structural beams -- sitting on top of the wall framing and holding up the ceiling -- you're better off with lightweight faux beams made of foam (such as Styrofoam), resin, or dense polyurethane.

According to Susan Serra, a certified kitchen designer (CKD) and author of the popular The Kitchen Designer blog, even the most upscale remodels sometimes include faux beams. With their realistic textures and colorings, many faux beams so closely resemble genuine wood that it's hard to tell the difference. (One downside? Styrofoam is not an eco-friendly material.)

Many styles are available for faux wood beams; see some examples here.

To install a faux beam, which is shaped like a hollow channel (see picture above), first install wooden mounting blocks (about 2" thick) on the ceiling every 4 to 5 feet. The beams are so light that the blocks can either be installed with screws into a beam in the ceiling or with a toggle bolt into sheetrock or drywall.





Faux beams generally come in lengths between 10 and 20 feet, but you can easily cut them to the right length with a handsaw. Then run a bead of adhesive or caulk on the edges of the beam, lift it up and over the mounting blocks, and press it to the ceiling. (Try this trick: Place painter's tape on the ceiling next to the blocks prior to placing the beam so you'll know where each mounting block is located once the beam is in place.)

Then install screws through the beam and into the block. By countersinking the screws, you can cover up the holes with wood putty. For further instruction, watch this video on installing faux wood beams.

BANQUETTE BENCH
For a cozy banquette, certified kitchen designer Susan Serra suggests topping ready-made 24"-deep cabinets (made for using above deep refrigerators) of the height you like: 12 or 15 inches. The cabinets provide plenty of structure for seating -- and give you the bonus of extra storage.

You can make the bench using shallower cabinets by building some framing to extend the seating area (see photo). However, as the creator of this banquette admitted, he should have installed these cabinets upside down so the doors would open from the top and make the storage area easier to access.

Cabinets that are 24 inches deep work best for creating a banquette bench. However, shallower cabinets (such as 18 inches deep) can be made to work by building a wooden frame behind the cabinet. (For more, see a cozy banquette for two fashioned from a daybed.)

PENDANT LIGHTS HUNG OVER ISLAND OR PENINSULA
This element might sound simple to DIY, but you must consider several issues. First, is there enough structure up above to hold the lights? The bigger and heavier the lights (thus the more dramatic), the more this will be an issue. An open attic above the kitchen gives you ample access to beef up the framing.
You also need to run electrical to the pendant lights, and a switch on the wall. If you're not a pro, I suggest you call in a licensed electrician for this -- and it's likely your area requires this. See a video from This Old House on how to hang pendant lights.



INLAID TILE FLOOR


This idea is so simple, yet so striking. Most of us love the idea of hardwood floors in the kitchen. However, we don't want get them marred and stained from food and debris. Integrating a tiled strip in the working area is a nice-looking solution.

You two main issues will be choosing the best tile for a kitchen, and making sure the tile and wood sections are even. Designer Susan Serra says, "Porcelain is great because it has color all the way through and usually gets high ratings for durability." Having color all the way through becomes important in case the tile chips so that you're not left with a glaring white wound. For more, see this guide for choosing tile from the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

Of utmost importance is making sure the two surfaces are exactly the same level. Typically, when different flooring materials are installed in different rooms, the seams are is hidden by a doorway threshold. When laying tile right next to wood, getting the transition right takes more finesse. This job will take more than basic DIY skills.

To make sure the tile and wood are at the right height, you must calculate the depth of subfloor and wood flooring, then compare that with the depth of the subfloor, underlayment, "mud' or thinset below the tile, and the tile itself. To cut into an existing floor, you'll use a circular saw to make the long cuts, and then use a specialty precision tool, such as the Fein Multimaster, to cut carefully into the corners.

For a step-by-step, see this guide to installing a tile inlay.

DISPLAY SHELF ABOVE WINDOWS
And finally, to make your kitchen as family-friendly as the Armstrong kitchen, consider installing shelves above the windows to hold framed photos. Make the shelf deep enough to lean the frames back, which eliminates the need for picture-hanging hardware in the walls and gives you ultimate flexibility to change the photos as the kids grow up.

One caution: If you live in earthquake country, you'll want to secure those frames somehow so they don't become flying hazards when the ground begins shaking. See a cool gadget for hanging level shelves.

FOR MORE GREAT REMODELING IDEAS, check out the author's blog, Kathy's Remodeling Blog

SEE ALSO:

Medal-Worthy Olympic Homes

10 Design Ideas to Steal from Celebrity Homes

Guess Which Celebrity Lives Here