Wife and husband duo Mette Aamodt and Andrew Plumb of Cambridge-based Aamodt/Plumb Architects combined the kitchen and formal dining room in this Newton Tudor to create one big living space because, Aamodt said, “life happens in the kitchen.” A Tillary sectional sofa in bone faux suede and a Box Frame coffee table with a whitewashed-wood top, both from West Elm, outfit the seating area.

The lower cabinets are semi-custom from Brookhaven with a whitewashed face of wood-grain laminate. To customize the look, they added contrasting bleached-ash supports between each pair of cabinets to match the wood-panel hood enclosures, the cabinets above, and the floor.

Aamodt chose a honed black stone material called Basaltina for the backsplash, shelf, and fireplace surround to contrast with the cabinets. Its asymmetric composition — the stone steps down as it moves away from the work area of the kitchen — adds a bit of quirkiness to the soothing aesthetic.

The ethanol-burning appliance by EcoSmart is a cozy focal point of the living area. “It’s basically like an oil lamp. You just fill up a reservoir with bioethanol fuel and light it,” Aamodt said.