Nate Berkus Shares How He and Katie Lee Biegel Made the Most out of Her NYC Galley Kitchen
When working alongside a professional chef such as Katie Lee Biegel to design a kitchen, Nate Berkus let her expertise do the talking. And with their combined knowledge of cooking and design, Berkus and Biegel have successfully worked together on eight different kitchen designs, including Biegel’s own narrow New York City space.
“[Katie Lee Biegel] and I have had a shared love for kitchens for a million years — Katie for cooking, mine for designing,” Berkus wrote in an April 8 Instagram caption. “Many NYC kitchens present the same challenge of being small and confined. For Katie’s, we worked with her galley kitchen to make the most out of the space that was available. The result? Highly functional, full of light, and a place she loves to be.”
“Of course, we’ve been friends for a thousand years, I was actually trying to remember how many homes we’ve designed together,” Berkus said in the Instagram video. Biegel responded, “I think it’s eight,” and they listed off a few of the homes they worked on.
“I feel like you come closer to center,” Berkus told Biegel. “With every project that we do, especially in the kitchen. It’s just totally representative of exactly what you know you want and what you want to feel like in each space.”
Biegel said, “It used to be that I wanted my space to just look really great when we were entertaining. Well, now I don’t do that as much. Now I’m more focused on, what’s it going to be like for Iris [her daughter].”
And when it came to designing her own kitchen, she and Berkus worked together to add space, light, and functionality to make it work for both the pro chef and the rest of her family.
“We have to give some credit to Ryan Biegel because he was the one that was like, ‘we really want a little stone table in here,’” Berkus said, pointing to the small cafe table on the opposite wall of the countertops and stove. “And I love the natural light that comes through.”
He continued, “It’s narrow, but I feel like we also spent money really wisely on stuff. Upgraded hardware, obviously your appliances, the marble countertops.”
And by keeping the layout simple and centered on the stove, Biegel can do her thing as efficiently as possible. Plus, the entire kitchen looks good, too. “This was one of the best details you added,” Biegel said, pointing at the beveled edge of the marble counters. “It’s just so pretty.”
Paying attention to the layout and spending money on high-quality items that will be used every day transformed this small NYC galley kitchen into something perfect for a professional chef.