NASHVILLE, TN— Melissa M. Smith, CKD, Allied ASID, of Nashville, TN-based Hermitage Kitchen Design Gallery, knows how to add through subtraction – or better yet, “add through abstraction.”

After all, how else to describe Smith’s efforts when updating a previously plain, inefficient kitchen into a contemporary masterpiece that met her client’s entertaining needs and better showcased a modern art collection?

She explains: “The client wanted a major transformation that offered seating with a view of the television and the ability to entertain lots of people.”

In fact Smith, along with Carla Taylor, CKD (also of Hermitage), not only created a more efficient space, but added artistic elements that reflect the client’s personality and carry the contemporary theme that is featured throughout the home.

“We needed to create a space that would bring the plain, white kitchen up to speed with the client’s contemporary and artistic styling that was [featured].”

To accomplish this, the pair incorporated eye-catching colors, such as translucent shades of spicy red, and combined that aesthetic with curved shapes and unique materials, including stainless steel, glass and granite.

But, there were layout challenges that prohibited the kitchen from becoming a continuation of the home, she notes.

“A powder room stood between the client and her dream,” she explains, noting that the pre-existing powder room obstructed the flow of the kitchen and adjoining family room.

“Removing the powder room was a great solution because it [showcased] all of the fun art work and colors in the family room,” she adds.

Smith was also able to salvage the wood floor that ran between the family room and kitchen, and turned it into a unique design element as well.