Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2016 - 58

HM
RETURNING TO NATURAL BEAUTY
Kitchens

BUILT AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, this country manor home
is a showcase of architecture and pastoral land. Unfortunately,
over the years the kitchen had become more reflective of a 1990s
design and seemed to ignore its outer shell.
"Being a New England girl, I simply love to work on older
homes," said designer Amanda LaRose of Natick, Mass.-based
Studio Bowerbird. "I feel like it breathes new life into a piece of
our history and allows these beautiful properties to endure."

A kitchen redesign pays
homage to a historic home

RIGHT To tie in some of the home's
character, the designers used
nostalgic materials, such as a handdone artisanal paint treatment that
shows the brush strokes but offers
a hard, catalyzed topcoat.

It was a goal to keep as much natural light throughout the kitchen as
possible, while allowing for a more
functional use of the space.

VERSATILE NEEDS AND DETAILS

The first consideration was to split up the large room into smaller
areas with specific functions all working harmoniously.
"By using the ceiling plane and false columns, we separated the
kitchen from a breakfast area, soft-seating lounge area, butler's
pantry and breakfast station," said LaRose, adding that these
architectural details added to the kitchen's historic character.
The home, which boasted segmented arched doorways, wainscot paneling and architectural columns, needed cabinetry in
proportion to these elements. By installing 5/4-in. doors, the
design team gave the cabinetry a more dramatic panel offset that
paired well with the original doors.
The framed inset construction style where the face frames were
combined also refers to the way the cabinetry may have been
installed at some point along its history.This created the timeless
appeal that drew in our judges.


SOURCES

DESIGNER: Amanda LaRose,

Studio Bowerbird

BUILDER: Emory Patterson,

Stonehedge Developments
PHOTOGRAPHER: Jeff Adams
MANUFACTURERS: Das Holz
Haus, Miele, Schaub,
Sub-Zero, Wolf

ACCOMMODATING KITCHEN

Functional design caters
to whole household

THE GOAL OF THIS $75,000 KITCHEN REMODEL was to make it functional for the wife, who uses a scooter and has limited forward reach,
and the husband, who wanted to easily access cabinetry and storage.
Barb Mueller of Designs Anew Houston, LLC, took a universal
design approach to the project and included such elements as a safe
induction cooktop on the island with a retractable door for scooter
access underneath and two side-hinged ovens under the countertop.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

"One of the challenges was designing the space planning for the wife,
as she had difficulty maneuvering around the tight aisles without hitting and nicking the base cabinet doors with her scooter,"said Mueller. "After measuring the scooter in motion, the aisles were planned
at 48 inches each at the sides of the island and 60 inches between the
main countertop and the island so as to allow a 5-ft. diameter turning
radius for the scooter to move from the cooktop to the main sinks."
Base drawers with pegs next to the dishwasher allow the wife to
load and unload dishes and glassware easily, and switches and outlets
under the sink allow her to use them from her seated position.
"Scooter knee space under the induction cooktop was necessary,
so the blower and ducting were planned for the rear cabinet directly
behind it," said Mueller.
Judges Corridan and Steinberg were impressed by the huge transformation of the space, updated aesthetic and great example of a
design truly addressing everyone's needs.


58

Kitchen & Bath Business / SEPTEMBER 2016 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)

LEFT The designer provided

storage at point-of-use for the
cooking and prep zones at the
island, as well as the baking zone
on the other side of the kitchen.
They chose colorful acrylic for
the upper cabinets and durable
bamboo for the base units,
which house the easy-to-reach
side-by-side ovens, microwave,
storage drawers, lift-up mixer
and pullout trash unit.

SOURCES

DESIGNER: Barb Mueller,

Designs Anew Houston,
LLC; MANUFACTURERS:
Arizona Tile, Bosch,
Cosentino/Silestone, Esmer
Tile, GE, Kohler, LaGrande,
Rev-A-Shelf, SherwinWilliams, Tech Lighting, Top
Knobs, UltraCraft
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Barb
Mueller & Brian Vogel
http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.KBIS.com
Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2016
