How TikTok-Famous Chefs Hailee Catalano and Chuck Cruz Designed Their Dream Kitchens—Yes, Plural

"The kitchen is all I care about in a house. It’s the heart of our home," says Hailee Catalano, a professional chef-turned-food content creator, whose feed features delightful videos of her breaking down cozy, accessible home-cooked meals. So when she and her partner Chuck Cruz—also a trained chef with a social following—serendipitously stumbled on a 1954 ranch-style home in New Jersey with two functioning kitchens, one on the ground floor and one in the basement, they took it as a major sign to move in. 

"This house reminds me of my grandma’s house, who had a kitchen in her basement too. She’s Sicilian, this family [who lived here before us] was also Italian, and a lot of Italian homes had a second kitchen," Hailee says. (Her grandmother’s influence has been foundational to Hailee’s culinary career; a whole chapter in Hailee’s debut cookbook, By Heart, which was released in April and made the New York Times bestseller list, is dedicated to her grandma Tina’s recipes.)

Even though the house had been well maintained ("You could tell they really loved this house and took care of it," says Hailee, of the former owners), the duo wanted to fully renovate the interiors and reconfigure the layout to better suit their needs. Hailee and Chuck tore down the original ground-floor kitchen, which was a bit dark, and relocated it from one of the far corners to the very front of the house. The original kitchen is now the dining area. The original entrance initially led down a dim hallway, so a wall was removed and the ceiling was vaulted, to open up the space for the new kitchen. Windows were added to the dining area; skylights were added to the kitchen. 

On the other side of the upstairs kitchen are two box rooms—the living room and primary bedroom. The couple was also presented with the option to have the kitchen at the back of the house (where their bedroom currently is), but that would have required plumbing changes. In the end, they decided on the kitchen at the front of the house, a recommendation from Chuck’s father, who was the couple’s contractor. The whole renovation project was a family affair, in fact: Chuck’s sister handled the interior design and Chuck’s brother-in-law helped with the build. 

After months of planning, designing, and construction, the kitchen of Hailee’s dreams features floor-to-ceiling wood textures, stainless-steel accents, roomy cabinets that hide everything, and abundant natural light. The basement kitchen, where Chuck primarily cooks, emanates its own unique energy. Think: vintage chalet cabin meets, as Hailee describes, "a shop kitchen vibe."

In By Heart, Hailee writes that "[the] kitchen is where I have always found calm and serenity." As first-time homeowners, the professional chef couple shares how they created not one, but two, sanctuaries where they spend most of their days cooking for their audience and also each other.

Wood = warmth

"I always wanted a wood ceiling because of the warmth that wood brings," says Hailee, of the knotty pine panels that stretch across the vaulted ceiling. She had one nonnegotiable request for the cabinet doors and drawer fronts: "I wanted a flat surface that you could wipe easily because anything with grooves gets dirty with dust and grease if you’re cooking a lot," she says.

But, as Hailee discovered, totally flat doors aren’t common so she found a company called Plykea, which makes custom plywood fronts for Ikea cabinet bases. Instead of doors with a traditional knob or a handle drilled into them, Hailee asked for circular indents carved in. "You just use your finger to pull the door open," she says. The kitchen abounds with cabinet space, which is perfect for Hailee, who loves to keep her kitchen clear and clutter-free—even the microwave gets tucked away when it’s not in use.

A nod to restaurants

Before Hailee and Chuck pivoted to food content creation during the pandemic, they worked in a slew of restaurants. So it’s no surprise that their main kitchen has Easter eggs that pay homage to their professional chef days. The aforementioned wood cabinets and ceiling echo Chicago locales like Cellar Door Provisions, where Hailee had previously worked, and Avec, another spot where wood panels surround the dining area. For appliances like the fridge, oven, and hood, the couple went with stainless steel, a material commonly found in commercial-grade kitchens.

"It’s a nod to when we worked in restaurants. Everything’s stainless steel, very easy to clean, and it’s still aesthetically pleasing," she says. The couple also built a custom insert for the gap between the oven and the wall, an easy access area where cooking essentials like seasonings, oils, and tasting spoons are organized in small stainless-steel Gastronorm containers. "We got a lot of our ideas from the designs of restaurants," says Hailee.

An island of possibilities

In the middle of the kitchen is a large island, which, if you’ve watched one of Hailee’s videos, is where she usually takes center stage. "The island is a nice space to have, especially if you have people over, because I could be prepping on the other side while someone can just sit and chat, or even be part of the cooking if they want to. I want the kitchen to be part of the entertainment area," she says. But there’s another key reason why the island is so big: "It’s all storage beneath the counter. We wanted a lot of cabinet space for our stuff. I don’t like having things on my counter because it creates a sense of chaos to me, especially when I’m cooking," Hailee says. The quartz countertop works beautifully as a simple backdrop for food videos and pictures.

Let there be light

Much like her recipes, Hailee keeps her video productions as streamlined and unfussy as possible. She wanted her kitchen to be naturally lit so she can easily record during the day without needing other lighting equipment. Part of the reason why the kitchen was built at the entrance of the house was to take advantage of the large, front-facing windows. A set of skylights were added above. The pendant lights that hang above the island bear a resemblance to pimiento-stuffed olives, according to Hailee’s fans, come from Lightology in Chicago.

Stick to your vision

The unexpected focal point in the main kitchen is the yellow tiled backsplash. When Hailee presented a single yellow tile sample to friends and family to get their thoughts before the build, the immediate reaction was one of uncertainty. "A lot of people were like, ‘It’s ugly,’ or ‘It looks like American cheese,’" Hailee recalls. "But I think yellow is bright and cheery while still being kind of neutral, in my opinion. And for some reason, throughout our whole lives, Chuck and I always end up picking things that are yellow or orange." The pair stuck to their guts and installed rows upon rows of matte-finish cheese-slice tiles from Zia Tiles, a decision she is pleased with. "I feel like the yellow brings a warmth without being too loud, and the bit of green in the lights with the tile is so nice," says Hailee.

Revamp and repurpose

For the basement kitchen, Hailee and Chuck kept many of the existing features and made modern adjustments or replaced outdated appliances. The original cabinets had beautiful vintage hardware, so they kept those intact and updated the fronts with a coat of butter-yellow paint and new sliding doors. One section of cabinetry wasn’t needed in the kitchen, so it was repurposed for a bar that was built on the other side of the basement. The stainless-steel appliances and wood panels in the basement kitchen, as well as the yellow tiles at the bar, echo the colors and materials found in the upstairs kitchen. The original sink, which had been kept in great condition, remained.

Whereas the upstairs kitchen has all of its cookware hidden in cabinets and drawers, a lot of this equipment is exposed and out in the open in the downstairs kitchen. Chuck even has various cooking essentials hanging from a stainless-steel pegboard, similar to a workbench you’d find in a tool shed. "A shop kitchen vibe is what we were going for," says Hailee.

So what are Hailee and Chuck, er, cooking up next? "I guess we need to throw a party," she says, surveying the basement space. "My family’s big and Chuck’s family is big, so everyone needs to come over so we can have a fun time." 

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