Most traditional Floridian homes disregard their best attribute: the natural abundance of light. But one new-build house in Orlando went against the norm. Designer Krista Agapito of Longwood, Fla.-based S&W Kitchens and local architect Michael Wenrich, known for his modern, LEED-certified homes, teamed up to create a contemporary take on a house in the Sunshine State.
“Precision is an understatement when it comes to this modern space,” said Agapito. “Every reveal and door needed to align and every detail thought through; fit and finish were critical to this client’s discerning eye, and the function needed to satisfy a French chef.”
Hiding Kitchen Clutter
Wenrich was already designing the home when Agapito came into the picture, and the kitchen was going to boast high ceilings and several floor-to-ceiling windows. Agapito then needed to design a space with as little distraction as possible to emphasize the open architecture, which included eliminating handles and other visible hardware.
“Customizing cabinetry with appliance panels and handle-less features proved to present some challenges,” said the designer, explaining that she used both 20/20 Design and AutoCAD to design this kitchen in a LEED platinum home. “Using the two programs, we were able to give the clients a great 3D color walkthrough to get an overall feel of the kitchen and surrounding space and be mathematically precise for the custom cabinet alignment.”
Working closely with Wenrich, Agapito opted for tall cabinetry built right into the walls, which left the kitchen feeling unobstructed. An espresso bar with floating cabinetry was installed on the right side of the kitchen, where the team was able to hide the plumbing in the walk-in pantry.
Two corner appliance garages provide for the everyday needs of a working kitchen, leaving the space always looking clean. Spice organizers, rollout trays, tray dividers keep the cabinet interiors organized, and integrated appliances keep with the space’s clean design. The team also selected touch latches for all of the doors, which allow for a touch-to-push feature with no visible hardware.
“My favorite high-tech detail in the kitchen has to be the Miele Knock2Open Dishwasher,” said Agapito, adding that other innovative features include geothermal heat pump technology and 10 kilowatt solar panels. “Just give it a couple taps, and it opens to display controls automatically!”
From Blue to White
The kitchen concept actually began with all custom, sky blue cabinets. The client had discovered a white-and-sky-blue accent chandelier, which was planned for the dining room, and this was the inspiration.
“Being such an open space, we instead opted for a white acrylic, front–gloss cabinetry with matching white tops and sky blue in the accents,” said the designer.
The waterfall quartz countertop on the island gave the designers the inspiration for a back-painted piece of a sky-blue glass on the back of the unit. The same blue glass panel is incorporated as a full-wall backsplash at the floating espresso area next to the kitchen. A remote-controlled, LED strip accent light was installed to illuminate the blue glass areas, the underside of the island panel and above and below the floating shelves at the espresso bar.
“Great task lighting was critical, but accent lighting in this space proved to be almost as important,” said Agapito. “The LED strip ensured evenly distributed light play and gives a soft but intentional highlight to the design details, making them a beautiful focal point at night.”
