Everyone
dreams of a new kitchen–especially a beautiful remodel. But when this
couple’s new Royal Summit kitchen was done, the wife didn’t want to
move back in. “It’s so new and clean,” she smiles. “I was considering
just keeping it this way and not using it.”
Her
designer, Michael Smith, certified master kitchen and bath designer,
and owner of Kitchen Concepts Plus Inc., accepts that as a compliment.
For
more than 20 years, Kitchen Concepts Plus has been a leader in
providing quality and innovation in design. Smith’s kitchen and bath
showroom at the Gentry Pacific Design Center offers a full selection of
counters, flooring, appliances and fixtures. The company also carries
two distinct lines of cabinetry—Euro-modern Poggenpohl and traditional
Rutt Handcrafted Cabinetry.
To
add beauty, comfort and efficiency to the L-shape kitchen, Smith
suggested two different woods from Rutt: snowflake maple and a
horizontal, riff-cut white oak. The softer maple hugs the corners and
dominates the kitchen, while the darker-textured oak flanks both ends,
much like bookends.
For
the wife, as for many petite women, the height of the countertops was a
major concern. “I wanted to lower all the countertops, especially the
island,” she says. Plus, she asked that the original dropped stovetop
area be level with the rest of the main counter space.
“I
designed three different counter levels for her,” Smith says. “The main
counter is 34 inches high, the lower island is 32 inches and the table
is 30 inches.” This height variation within the Zodiac engineered stone
counters ensures that the wife can do various kitchen tasks wherever
she’s most comfortable.
To
make the most out of the kitchen, Smith included a small desk at the
far end of the room. However, a wall shared by the kitchen and the
hallway blocked the desk’s view to the outside. “I wanted to give the
area a little more openness to the outdoors, so she wouldn’t feel like
she was sitting in a hole,” Smith says. To achieve this, he shaved back
the wall by about a foot, then contoured the drywall to mirror the
shape of the desk space. “It really opened up the lanai and the view,”
he says. “It’s amazing what that one foot did for the kitchen.”
Smith
notes another key structural change. The original kitchen had a
boxed-in, foot-wide support beam that ran across the entire length of
the room. Smith says, “It was just silly looking.” To correct the
design misdemeanor, Smith broadened the beam’s box to create a more
substantial drop ceiling. The new design element matches the width of
the refrigerator and the span of the island below.
The
new drop ceiling also houses utilitarian canister lights, plus the
wife’s red pendants from a showroom shopping spree in Seattle.
Fortuitously, the cheerful pendants match her raspberry accent wall
perfectly.
So,
is the husband pleased with the kitchen? “Yes, he’s really, really
happy with it,” the wife reports. “Although, he’d be happier if I’d
move in.”
| WHERE TO GET IT |
Designer: Kitchen Design by Michael Smith, CMKBD, of Kitchen Concepts Plus Inc.
Installation Specialist: Anthony Smith, from Interior Creations
Blower: Thermador external blower
Cabinetry: Rutt Handcrafted Cabinetry in snowflake maple and
horizontal, riff-cut white oak, from Kitchen Concepts Plus
Counters: Zodiaq engineered stone in storm grey
Dishwasher: Fisher & Paykel, 4-cycle, fully integrated
Microwave: Thermador
Oven: Thermador
Refrigerator/freezer: GE Monogram, 42” built-in, with panel front
Sink: Franke triple-bowl undermount, 18 gauge
Warming drawer: Thermador |
