Memphis, TN — When her clients walked into the Kitchens Unlimited showroom, Karen Kassen, CMKBD, allied ASID, says the first thing they noticed was a stunning countertop that reminded them of a geode.

“After that, there was no turning back,” she says. Referred to Kassen by an interior designer, the clients were looking to update their kitchen after completing renovations to the rest of their home. Or, as the designer puts it: “They saved the best for last!”

The kitchen’s overall design, which tied for fourth place in the recent CaesarStone Dream Design competition, was shaped by that element, a brown agate surface from the company’s Concetto collection. The design was further influenced by a custom blue glass table that was to be carried over from the existing kitchen into the new one.

Wants and Needs

The existing kitchen in the couple’s East Memphis home was a 1960s-era space with metal cabinetry and soffits. Kassen was charged with the task of creating a sleek, contemporary design that would suit the family’s fast-paced lifestyle, as well as accommodate guests. In short, they wanted the kind of modern style that extensive renovations had already brought to the rest of the home.

“The husband wanted a kitchen suited for a chef, while the wife was more concerned with creating a real ‘wow’ factor,” says Kassen.

With its dim lighting and low ceilings, the existing kitchen required structural work: walls, furrings, flooring and pantry were gutted to the studs. A new large wood slider window replaced a small existing aluminum window to encourage the flow of natural light into the space.

“The back entryway, which was previously a bottleneck area, was opened up to make a functional entry/mudroom space with room for lockers for family members to store all of their stuff,” the designer reports.

A challenge in space planning for the kitchen was how to include a large island with seating and plenty of work space – without impeding the major through-traffic to other areas of the home connected to the kitchen.

“By using a curved arc design with the countertop, we were able to soften the boxy, linear pattern of the kitchen and create a natural walkway beyond the island, making this ‘arc styled’ countertop the focal area of the kitchen, and creating continuity between the space and the living area beyond,” says Kassen.

A tiny desk/message center had been sandwiched between two small walls at the back entrance to the kitchen from the garage. Kassen relocated it out of the walkway and closer to the living space to give the clients more room to work, without it being banished to the corner, away from family life.

“We used a cork backsplash in this area as a prominent display for all of the busy family’s activities, invitations, school calendars, etc.,” she adds.

Honoring the Family's Heritage

There were a number of considerations for choosing the elements that would make up the modern, sophisticated design – among them a consideration for the family’s heritage.

“The homeowner wanted the appliances in the kitchen to reflect his love of cooking, as well as a design that would facilitate Jewish kosher dietary laws,” says Kassen. This would mean the inclusion of multiple refrigerators, dishwashers and plenty of nonporous countertop space. As the couple also has three young daughters, the entertaining of both adults and children in the kitchen needed to be considered.

Another challenge was to incorporate a custom blue glass table into the design.

“It was very important to the clients to reuse this piece. All of the blue accent tones used in the backsplash and countertop were chosen because of the huge, boldly shaded blue table,” notes Kassen.

The integration of these colors was important, as the table occupies a large space that transitions from the kitchen to the living area.

With the geode countertop and blue glass table to provide the ‘wow’ factor, the rest of the kitchen elements took on supporting roles, each carefully chosen to project a warm, yet contemporary style.

CaesarStone’s crisp White Blizzard with a square edge became the backdrop for the knockout island with a raised and curved bar top of CaesarStone’s Concetto 3 cm Brown Agate. The striking slab, supported by Hafele’s streamlined, stainless steel brackets, quickly became the focal point of the space. Kassen also specified CaesarStone’s White Blizzard shade of quartz for the perimeter tops.

“One of my favorite things that we incorporated into the design was a teppanyaki grill on the island for healthy, Japanese-style grilling. This has its own ventilation and cover, so as to not take up too
much countertop space,” says Kassen.

Dramatic espresso-stained cherry cabinetry from Mouser Custom Cabinetry with slab doors and drawers provides the bulk of the storage space. The cabinetry is finished with linear hardware in satin nickel from Top Knobs, which creates a sleek look and replicates the lines of the appliance pulls.

“Custom wood panels from the cabinet company integrated one of the dishwashers, ice machine and freezer to create a streamlined look” adds the designer.

Top-of-the-line appliances populate the kitchen, including a Sub-Zero 736R 36" refrigerator, Sub-Zero 15" ice machine, dual dishwashers from Bosch, two Blanco undermount stainless steel sinks, Franke faucets, garbage disposals and air switches, a 36" Wolf gas cooktop over which hangs a Vent-A-Hood 42" stainless steel hood, and a 30" single wall oven, 30" warming drawer and microwave convection speed oven, all from Miele.

The project, which included a laundry room, backdoor entrance, mudroom and hardwood floors, took about nine weeks.

“This kitchen was a lot of fun because it was such a transition. We were able to turn it into a family kitchen with room for all, as well as the perfect place to entertain,” Kassen concludes.

For more about this project, click here.

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