Anne Hathaway's NYC Home Contains A Trendy Invisible Kitchen

We didn't include Anne Hathaway's NYC cooking space on our list of the best celebrity chef kitchens — mostly because she's an actor and doesn't have a cooking show — but it's giving us serious heart-eyes all the same. Hathaway's penthouse kitchen was designed by Gramercy Design, and it's the centerpiece of her two-bedroom penthouse on the Upper West Side, a short walk from Central Park.

A removed service staircase allows Hathaway's kitchen to have 17-foot-tall skylights overlooking a streamlined, trendy space that looks like a perfect gathering place ... and not necessarily a kitchen. The room is a shining example of the "invisible kitchen trend," which generally tries to turn the kitchen into a more flexible social space and not quite so much an obvious spot for making and serving food.

Accordingly, the appliances and fixtures that make a kitchen look like a kitchen are hidden. That means no upper cabinets, a minimalist stovetop, and no visible coffee makers, toaster ovens, or dishes. The surfaces are likewise subdued, and the shelving is filled with décor instead of functional equipment or implements. In Hathaway's kitchen, herringbone hardwoods, sleek white floating shelves graced with pottery, and neutral marble all contribute to a room that is an extension of the living space and not its own thing.

If you are planning a kitchen remodel and appreciate the idea of an invisible kitchen, you will need to seriously shift your mental paradigm regarding what such a space ought to look like. You've heard that variety is the secret to making kitchen cabinets stand out? Forget that — here, you instead want the cabinets to blend in, which may mean opting for a solid wall of flush doors with no visible hardware or even foregoing upper cabinets altogether. Ree Drummond may love a stainless steel kitchen island, but that's much too industrial and in-your-face for the aesthetic you're going for. If you do incorporate an island within this design aesthetic, it's going to look more like a console or sideboard; that is, something multifunctional and not clearly specific to a kitchen.

You can incorporate freestanding furniture and décor, like armchairs or table lamps, which bring unexpected hominess to your kitchen. If you have a pantry, the door should be so well-hidden that it blends seamlessly into your cabinets or wall ... no visible food storage. Focus on statement décor like bold lighting and tons of greenery, and try to subdue obviously kitchen-specific fixtures like taps and handles. Pinterest is a great place to start looking for inspo, as once you've seen some great invisible kitchens for yourself, you'll get the idea and begin to plan how you can make the concept work in your space.