After parting ways with a designer during a stressful and unpleasant bathroom renovation, a couple in St. Petersburg, Fla., had cold feet when it was time to tackle the kitchen. Their daughter found Bee Studios on Instagram and thought it would be a great match with what her parents wanted to accomplish in the new space.
The clients had been in the home long enough to raise their children in it, and they were tired of the dated Tuscan style, which had been all the rage back in the day. It was also compartmentalized and closed off and didn’t match their lifestyle.
“Beyond a style change, they also wanted to alter the layout and improve function,” said Brooke Eversoll, CMKBD, founder and principal designer of Bee Studios. “They also wanted to create a kitchen their children would love coming home to.”
Finessing the Floor Plan
Some of the walls closing in the former space needed to come down, but a few stayed in place to accommodate the many appliances and ample cabinetry. The wife wanted to replace a small desk area with a coffee station, but the designer needed more square feet to make this area as functional as possible. She replaced a wall of slider doors the couple never used and transformed those into windows so there was room underneath and on the sides for the barista elements. Instead of the small dining area in the previous kitchen, Eversoll created a center line with the Lacanche range, sizable island with The Galley Sink and a Grothouse table that sits against the island.
“These homeowners really use their kitchen and love to cook,” said the designer, “so we laid it out like a chef’s experience. Guests can be engaged with the cook without being in the way in the busier areas.”
Eversoll wanted to create a strong hearth for the range and hood, but the vaulted ceiling was calling for angled cabinets. To avoid the staggered look, she installed a triangular soffit on the back wall to support the topline of the cabinets.
Creating the Perfect Storage Strategy
The homeowners wanted a kitchen with visual interest without being overwhelming. They fell in love with several Farrow & Ball paint colors in shaded white and blue tones, so Eversoll knew she needed to choose a cabinet brand that could color match. Bremtown Cabinetry had a lot of similar hues, and the brand was able to provide the full level of customization needed for this project. Eversoll chose a Shaker style with a step profile for the island’s navy cabinets and a rift-cut white oak for the hood, built-in refrigeration and island detail.
As far as function, the designer engaged in detailed planning with the clients so that everything in the kitchen had its place. The sink side of the island houses the double trash storage and a top drawer for knives. Single doors on the back of the island are home to larger platters for entertaining. Inset niches around the range are used for spices, oils and cutlery bins. Between the integrated refrigerator and freezer units, Eversoll designed a tall, lighted cabinet with ribbed-glass doors for glassware. To the right of the refrigeration is a built-in bar area with glass-door cabinets with mesh detail.
Accommodating Ample Appliances
The designer was tasked with a hefty appliance wish list, including a steam oven, built-in coffee maker, 30-inch fridge and freezer columns, 24-inch fridge and freezer drawers, an ice maker, an on-demand water system, a standard dishwasher and a dishwasher drawer. One of the highlights of the space is the black Lacanche range, which the wife discovered at a design showroom while visiting their daughter in New York City. Eversoll ordered the range in advance since the lead time was long, but the project took longer than expected. Instead of leaving the appliance to sit in a warehouse for months, she was able to release it to another customer and place a new order that would get there in time for installation.
Selecting Sophisticated Surfaces
The main backsplash behind the range is natural marble pieced together in diamond shapes with a reeded texture. Its deep colors complement the gray-toned and navy cabinets. The backsplash is comprised of four marbles: Paon Royal, Breccia di Seravezza, Bardiglio Nuvalato and Carrara Ghiaccio. The smaller backsplashes are lava stone in a white-shaded mosaic pattern, a simple tonal texture that lets the eye move around the room. The recessed niches on either side of the range are quartz, as are the perimeter countertops. Quartz was also used to create a little plinth where the hood sits on the counter to protect from spills and liquids during cleanup.
The island was designed with stacked waterfalls layering stone and wood together – a design detail Eversoll says meets a functional requirement of the client’s desired counter height of 39 inches. To complicate things further, the client fell in love with a Michelangelo marble that wasn’t long enough to accommodate her island length, so the designer came up with a clever solution. She created a strap of 1-1/2-inch-wide brass to serve as a transition point between the two slabs. This creative solution allowed the island to be installed without seams; it looks fluid and intentional and ended up being one of the highlights of the space.
“The fabricator said he would never do this kind of install again, but my followers went crazy when they saw it on Instagram,” said the designer. “This added a few months to the project with extra steps, but this is as custom as custom gets.”
Confronting Challenges
Eversoll said her clients had a reasonable original budget with which to work, but because of some of the custom details, it needed to be tweaked along the way.
“It was a balance of where to put the money for the most impact,” said the designer. “We chose incredible island materials, high-quality appliances, quality cabinets and unique cabinet hardware as the main splurge items. For other high-price items, we had to decide if it was worth it to move forward with those.”
Eversoll said there was an issue with the cabinets on the range wall, as the wrong finish arrived for install because of an ordering issue. She rectified the problem quickly by working directly with the CEO of the cabinet company to have them repainted.
“We always want to right a wrong to strengthen the relationship and preserve our reputation,” said the designer. “We addressed it ASAP, and our clients handled it with grace and trusted us as professionals.”
As a final gift to her clients, Eversoll hired a local chef to host an in-home paella-making class in the new kitchen. Their daughter was in town for the event, and the designer said it was a reward to see the kitchen in use after the successful project was complete.
Sources
Designer: Brooke Eversoll, CMKBD, Bee Studios Photographer: Crystal Harvey, Bos Images Backsplashes: Artistic Tile & Lithos Design Cabinets: Bremtown Cabinetry Coffee Maker & Steam Oven: Miele Countertops: Mont Krest & Pompeii Quartz Dishwasher: Cove Dishwasher Drawer: Fisher & Paykel Faucets: The Galley Flooring: Hallmark Floors Hardware: Armac Martin Ice Maker & Refrigeration: Sub-Zero On-Demand Water System: ZipWater Pendant: Modern Forms Pot Filler: Newport Brass Range: Lacanche Sink: The Galley & Kohler Stools: Adriana Hoyos Table: Grothouse
