Without doubt, the kitchen shown here is a grand example of modern styling: sleek, functional and full of personality.

In keeping with the linear look of modern design, we used horizontal-grain quartered African mahogany for the kitchen’s wall panels and cabinetry.

The mahogany island includes a prized material called crotch veneer, which comes from the trunk of a tree where the limbs branch. Midland then expertly “book-matched” the grain, an exacting process which, like facing pages in a book, perfectly mirrors the grain in the separate pieces of wood. The result is the eye-popping visual design shown here.

William Duff Architects (WDA) in San Francisco designed the interior remodel and the exterior renovation for the home located in the hills above Los Gatos. Interior work included a new kitchen, family room and home theater. WDA describes it as a “sleek modern design with rich, warm materials,” augmented by “our clients’ sense of fun and whimsy.”

To see more images of the remodel, visit the William Duff Houzz page.