After living in New York City for 30 years, Clinton Kelly and his husband, psychologist Damon Bayles, were ready for a home surrounded by less concrete and more greenery. They found a 1969 bungalow in Litchfield County, CT, that was perfect — other than a small, sad kitchen. They decided to overhaul and expand it — right into the living room. “I wanted the space to feel open and airy like you’re floating on a cloud,” says Clinton. Because the house sits on the side of a mountain a natural gas line wasn’t possible, so he installed two electric KitchenAid ovens and an induction cooktop, a setup that comes in handy when the couple makes their favorite lemon-sage turkey and biscuit stuffing on Thanksgiving. Clinton says they love spending time in here cooking, thanks to 30-foot ceilings and giant windows that flood the room with light. “I feel like I’m living in some sort of fairy tale.”

One-Of-A-Kind Tiles: Little pops of black in the mosaic backsplash ( made of small shards of stone ) add contrast to the mostly white kitchen.

Dramatic Fixture: The six-foot antler chandelier is one of the first things Clinton put in the house. It came from Colorado in its natural state and Clinton had it painted high-gloss black. “I once heard that every room should have one black piece in it,” he says.

Book Display: “I have so many cookbooks, I could fill a room,” Clinton says. He rotates them in and out of the kitchen based on the season and what he feels like cooking.

Giant Windows: Clinton and Damon replaced and enlarged the windows to take up some of the space created by the high ceilings. “Ideally I’d love to live in a glass cube, but that has privacy issues,” Clinton jokes.

Faux Wood: Clinton wanted to avoid the pitfalls of wood floors (staining, warping), so he installed porcelain tiles with a wood grain pattern in different sizes and shapes for a natural look.

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