There's a good reason Lance Armstrong's kitchen is so comfortable and inviting. This is not merely a showplace, but the heart of a family home where the cycling superstar is raising children (he shares amicable joint custody of three young children with his former wife), and where he plans to live until his kids graduate from high school.
"Dad's not moving again," Armstrong told his kids, as was first reported in Architectural Digest (their original story contains almost a dozen photos of Armstrong's amazing estate).
At first glance the kitchen seems luxurious beyond most people's budget, with stately stainless steel pendant lights, slab stone counters and a dramatic beamed ceiling.
However, if you break the kitchen down into components, many of the features are well within the budget and abilities of a talented DIYer. Consider how some of these changes to a typical kitchen could give you the look of Lance Armstrong's cozy retreat.
Let's take a closer look at how to make the following features your own:
• Faux wood beams on ceiling
• Banquette in kitchen
• Pendant lights hung over island or peninsula
• Inlaid tile floor in working area
• Shelf above windows for family photos
FAUX WOOD BEAMS
To install lightweight faux wood beams, you must attach wooden mounting blocks to the ceiling and screw the side of the beam into those. Photo: Faux Wood Beams
You may think those are heavy wooden beams in Armstrong's kitchen, but that's not necessarily so. Unless these are structural beams -- sitting on top of the wall framing and holding up the ceiling -- you're better off with lightweight faux beams made of foam (such as Styrofoam), resin, or dense polyurethane.
According to Susan Serra, a certified kitchen designer (CKD) and author of the popular The Kitchen Designer blog, even the most upscale remodels sometimes include faux beams. With their realistic textures and colorings, many faux beams so closely resemble genuine wood that it's hard to tell the difference. (One downside? Styrofoam is not an eco-friendly material.)
Many styles are available for faux wood beams; see some examples here.
To install a faux beam, which is shaped like a hollow channel (see picture above), first install wooden mounting blocks (about 2" thick) on the ceiling every 4 to 5 feet. The beams are so light that the blocks can either be installed with screws into a beam in the ceiling or with a toggle bolt into sheetrock or drywall.
Faux beams generally come in lengths between 10 and 20 feet, but you can easily cut them to the right length with a handsaw. Then run a bead of adhesive or caulk on the edges of the beam, lift it up and over the mounting blocks, and press it to the ceiling. (Try this trick: Place painter's tape on the ceiling next to the blocks prior to placing the beam so you'll know where each mounting block is located once the beam is in place.)
Then install screws through the beam and into the block. By countersinking the screws, you can cover up the holes with wood putty. For further instruction, watch this video on installing faux wood beams.
A big thank you to Kathy Price-Robinson for demonstrating that the look of Lances kitchen can be done for affordably when using Faux Wood Beams; A big thank you to AOL for splashing this article on their front page. "Create the Look: Lance Armstrong's Kitchen" reminds us all how easy it is for a DIYer to easily achieve an amazing look suitable for Architectural Digest.
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Lance Armstrong's kitchen 
