Kitchen Cabinets Reno

Unexpected ‘Find’ Inspires Kitchen Design

HOUSTON — Over the course of the past five years, designers at Chairma Design Group in Houston, TX, have helped these homeowners lovingly renovate several areas of their home in The Woodlands, including the family and dining rooms, entry, study and conversation room. Most recently, they transformed the kitchen, creating a space with improved functionality and storage, a nod to nature and a clean aesthetic that more effortlessly fits into their busy lifestyle as parents to five kids.

Working within the kitchen’s existing footprint, Aplanalp and designer Amber Reddoch addressed functionality and the wife’s love of cooking by replacing the 36″ cooktop with a nearly 6′ professional-style La Cornue range and matching ventilation hood. Moving the appliances from an angled corner to a perimeter wall gave them the ability to emphasize their brilliant green hue, making them a focal point for the space. Their new location also balances the appliances’ visual ‘heft’ with the fireplace in the adjacent family room.

The designers flanked the range with a pair of glass-front cabinets accented with black metal mullions and Material Bespoke Stone + Tile’s Diamond dimensional tile in Matte Grey, both of which tie the kitchen to adjacent rooms where iron/black and glass accents are used. Interior lights add sparkle and highlight the texture and shape of the tile.

Clé’s 4″x4″ zellige tile in Weathered White serves as the backsplash behind the range and hood. It extends to clad the angled wall behind the floating shelves as well as the window wall.

“We made the window much larger to brighten and modernize the kitchen,” says Aplanalp. “This home is on a gorgeous lot so the larger window gives our clients a better connection to nature, which is something they were looking for.”

Improved Storage
Being able to make the window larger, plus remove the wall cabinets that flanked the previously petite window, was made possible by improving storage in the new kitchen. In addition to custom Jonathan Dahl Woodworks walnut cabinets, which includes plenty of efficient drawers, the designers created a coffee station and a ‘super’ pantry. The former includes shelves, a quartzite work surface and outlets tucked behind bifold doors, giving the homeowners an opportunity to conceal small appliances and associated drink accessories. The station’s wall cabinet-depth dimension, plus its location between the paneled Sub-Zero refrigerator and freezer columns, creates some visual relief that makes the expansive wall feel ‘lighter.’

“When we use paneled refrigerators and freezers, we like to split them up whenever possible to minimize their large mass,” says Aplanalp. “In this kitchen, we were able to separate them with the shallow-depth coffee station to help break up their blockiness.”

The coffee station’s wall cabinet-depth dimension, plus its location between the paneled refrigerator and freezer columns, creates some visual relief that makes the expansive wall feel ‘lighter.’

The island also provides additional storage as well as plentiful in-kitchen seating for the family. Its smokey blue painted base echoes blue hues used throughout the rest of the home. Its Mont Blanc quartzite top contrasts the darker finishes to brighten the space. As a relatively low-maintenance, durable natural stone, it can also withstand the demands of the busy family.

This outdoor dream ‘complex,’ designed by Lauren Bockin, includes multiple entertaining zones and an inground pool. The perimeter of the main cooking/entertaining zone features a built-in pizza oven and smoker. Additionally, a grill, two dishwashers, a workstation sink, a refrigerator and an ice drawer are all tucked within wood-look cabinetry. Photos: Sunset & Ivory