What’s your inspiration modern or traditional?

The Modern Kitchen

While visiting Village Handcrafted Cabinetry we found the perfect door front that reflects the shape and colors of our inspiration vase. The cabinet door is a Birds-Eye Maple with a sleek plain front style with a pillow top edge. It is a perfect fit for the light and warm contemporary look we are aiming for. The soft edges and subtle shading reflect the qualities that Dayle was drawn to in her inspiration piece.

Next we worked on choosing a counter top. At Prestige marble and tile we began our search by looking at the small (12×12) samples inside the showroom. We made a note of our favorites and then headed out to the yard to look at the slabs. Dayle and Carl like warm golden orange tones with a lot of movement. They took home a few samples to help them with their backsplash tile selection.

Granite selection is often difficult because it is a big ticket item and it’s really important to love it. Sometimes that happens immediately; sometimes it is a more agonizing process. For Carl and Dayle their original selections were not meshing with what they liked for their wall tile. After looking at several different distributors they decided to go with a full tantrum glass back splash in the burnt amber color.

The tile is cut into “slivers” – pencil sized shapes and is made using crushed glass, giving it a very unique artisan look. This tile is very dramatic and a true focal point for the kitchen. It was important that the granite did not compete with the backsplash so we went back to the drawing board. While visiting Prestige with another client, I picked up a sample of the Silestone quartz product in Sonora Gold. The quartz products have all of the qualities of granite as far as durability and strength and they do not need to be sealed. The Sonora Gold is a soft consistent color resembling a limestone look in a deep bronze color with some softer light shading the same color as the cabinetry. The color worked great with the maple and the tantrum glass. After another visit to Prestige to look things over one more time, Dayle and Carl finalized their decision to go with the Silestone Quartz.

Everything is falling into place and now we just have to wait for it all to come together!

What’s your inspiration modern or traditional?


The Contemporary Kitchen
 –
This kitchen in Bala Cynwyd has been so much fun for me to work on, mostly because of the great relationship I have with Carl and Dayle, the homeowners. Carl is great at playing devil’s advocate, while Dayle calmly forges her way through the selection process with a complete understanding of the look and feel she wants for her new kitchen. As the kitchen design progressed, Carl questioned whether there was a way to access his side yard to reach his grill. Otherwise, from the kitchen he would have to walk down a few steps into his family room and out the back door. This question resulted in a design change which scaled back cabinetry in order to place French glass doors which will open out to a small enclosed patio and grill. Not only will this allow Carl easier access to his grill , but it will greatly open up the feel of the small living room and dining room by creating another outdoor living area allowing the couple to open the entire space when entertaining. A wall will be removed between the existing kitchen and dining area to create a great room in every sense of the term.

It is so important to spend the time to discuss the use of space and develop a variety of plans to brain storm solutions to the function of the design. Once all of that is completed the fun of the selections really begins.