The banquette,

opposite,

is the epicenter of

the Knorppÿ house. “ Nothing makes me

happier than seeing people camped out here,”

says Carol. “Whoever comes into our house

always ends up at the banquette. It’s

inevitable.”

Carol didn’t want to spend a lot of money on

an oversize hood for her stove. When she and

architect Ken Linsteadt saw a stack of

reclaimed oak flooring left over from the

kitchen floor, they asked the contractor if he

could use it to face the metal hood insert.

“ It’s probably one of my favorite accidental

decisions,” she says.