Our goal..... To take a disorganized, bland area and transform it into a warm, functional and elegant kitchen.

Our client initially approached us with:

• A wish for a furnished kitchen with every detail being carefully manicured.
• A desire to update the cabinets and appliances.
• A love for entertaining their large family.

Before: an uneventful space

• Monotonous cabinets with no height variation.
• The "desk area" is not being utilized, it is essentially a waste of space.
• The area is poorly lit, no undercounter lighting.

After: a visually intriguing focal point

• Staggered cabinet height adds interest.
• Relocated the main sink area to break up the long run of counterspace.
• added undercabinet lights for additional task lighting.
• Shelf lighting was added for accent lighting.

A disorganized space:

The homeowner had expressed interest in making the space look more "furnished" and manicured than their previous kitchen. Because of this , it was of great importance to us that every piece fit perfectly into the design scheme. Ways that e achieved this look:

• Using a built-in refrigerator.
• Adding panels to certain appliances, such as the refrigerator and the trash compactor to make the appear like cabinets.
• Using a two drawer dishwasher.
• Crown molding that extends to the ceiling.
• Using frameless cabinets.

Making the kitchen more functional:

Whereas a big kitchen is nice, this kitchen was entirely too big. The existing work triangle was large, so there was a lot of walking around when using the kitchen. This made cooking in the kitchen exhausting. Because of the ceiling height change and the layout of the home, we did not want to change the basic existing footprint. Our homeowners are planning on aging in-home, so adding an island to cut down on the necessary walking was a sound choice.

A unifying element:

• Although the shape of the existing countertop was interesting, it did little for the family room area located on the other side.
• We chose to put a vent-free fireplace in the area to help tie the kitchen area into the family room.
• In keeping with the furnished feel of the kitchen, we also added some built in cabinets with glass shelves to help display the owner's glass tiles and other items.
• The same dentil molding is used to cap the area, which further ties it to the kitchen area.
• Classic elements are used, such as the fluted columns and the keystone above the fireplace.
• An arch is used to keep the area from looking too formal.

Some interesting notes about the countertops:

• Ogee edges were used.
• Note that the shape of the curve in the center island. This gives a unique flair and again keeps with the design concept of manicuring every detail.
• A lighter color granite is used on the far and center islands whereas a darker granite is used for the countertops on the sink wall. This does a number of things; the darker is a nice contrast with the pale blue backsplash tiles. It also gives further pronunciation to the area . The rest of the counters are a light color, as to not add to much contrast Note that the darker color is also used for a backsplash for the island. This further defines the space and ties in the darker color to another part of the kitchen nicely.
• In certain areas, such as the main sink and the cooktop, the countertops and cabinets are pulled out several inches. This was done for a couple of reasons. The practical reason is to allow enough room for the large sink and cooktop with the retractable vent behind it. Aesthetically, it gives variation and adds interest. The corners are rounded as to avoid sharp edges.

Glasswork: Our Homeowner worked with a local artist to create these beautiful glass inserts for the wall cabinets. There is a beautiful backyard with a specialty in-ground pool. The glass work is meant to be a mirror image of the backyard scene (an artistic interpretation, mind you!) The vibrant colors and expert craftsmanship make an alluring focal point. Special Considerations: Existing Backsplash Special Care had to be given when removing the existing tile backsplash. The homeowner wanted to preserve the backsplash, so each tile needed to be carefully removed to avoid breakage. Overall, it was a very successful and the homeowner was very pleased.

Floor

The floor in the area was an exquisite marble with fairly intricate inlaid work. The homeowner obviously opted to keep the existing floors, however, this posed a problem for the crew. The entire job needed to be done on extremely expensive marble floors. Everyone worked together on the job, and in the end the floor was still intact with only minimal patching to be done, which was to be expected.

Custom art glass on cabinet doors, and backsplash is glass tile with custom handmade glass done by Mrs. Reid.

Other Points of Interest:

Tile

Great care as given with the blacksplash tiles. They are glass, which always requires high level of expertise and care. However, the homeowner wanted her glass tiles to be displayed in the backsplash as well. She handcrafted each of the tiles, a hobby which she has won several awards for in the past. Each of her tiles had to be precisely fit into the glass tiles. In the end, the extra time and precision paid off. The art tiles are an excellent accent to the lovely backsplash.

Moldings Extensive stacked molding was used to allow the molding to reach the ceiling. The dentil molding was chosen to add visual interest and pairs nicely with the frequency of the fluted panels. These two elements are a nice contrast to the smooth and unified feeling of the flat-paneled frameless cabinets.

Before and After Floorplans: