Spotted - Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine July 2016

Today, June 23rd, marks my 8th anniversary as a Kitchen & Bath Designer!  EIGHT YEARS....that is college twice (or one and a half for some....:) ) How crazy is that?

In other news.....I'm pumped to have a kitchen I designed featured in the July issue of Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine!

Do you guys remember the Luxury Living Show kitchen? The kitchen that sat in the middle of the mall (Phipps Plaza)? The one that started out as this sketch......

Well, if you didn't get to see this kitchen while it was on display in March, here is your chance to check it out. 

Cabinetry: Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios (color Benjamin Moore Stone Hearth BM984) | Styling:  Melanie David Design | Countertops: Cambria (Ella) by Construction Resources | Barstools: Serena & Lily | Appliances: Sub-Zero/Wolf | Sink/Faucet: Franke | Internal Drawer Components: Richelieu | Hardware: Top Knobs

All photos are from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Website. 

A Kitchen Remodel Full of Fun, Function & An Island Inspired by a Pot

I've got a kitchen remodel bursting at the seams with function and personality that I've been excited to share with you all for awhile now. I was initially called out to this kitchen to simply re-design the island. At the time the homeowners were satisfied with the perimeter layout, but the island just felt really big and bulky in the space.

To begin, the island was multi-level which really cut down on the continuous counterspace and made the actual working space choppy. The limited continuous work space was especially an issue because the cooktop and a prep sink were located on the island making the space tight. In addition, the countertops themselves had a really thick edge detail which was pretty, but it made the already large island feel even bigger. We decided pretty fast the best solution would be to make the island all one level to help with the visual weight as well as increase the usable workspace.

With the design nailed down we started talking about the aesthetics and the homeowner showed me a picture of this pot.

I love how inspiration can come from literally ANYWHERE! She had seen this pot out and about and loved the overall vibe, particularly the depth of color and the wear that shown through in certain spots. This pot was her island color inspiration and I was 100% on board! I took the picture to our finishers at Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios and they played with several color combinations before nailing it with a custom mix of Benjamin Moore's Sylvan Mist CSP-740 + a Charcoal rub. 

About the time we had all of the details squared away for the island the homeowners talked and decided they wanted to go ahead and redo the whole kitchen. In general I think if you are able, remodeling an entire space all at one time is a way better idea then doing pieces here and there along the way. It allows your house and life to be uprooted once, even if it is for a few months, but once it's over you are done and your space as a whole is complete. We left all major mechanical components (refrigerator, sinks, etc...) in the same general vicinity, but did redesign certain elements to increase storage and functionality and of course add some custom layers of interest throughout the space. 

Let me show you around:

This is the view from the family room. The house is full of fun art and decor which pops so nicely off the neutral tones of the cabinetry. For the most part the perimeter cabinetry was done in alder wood with a dark stained finish and was taken to the ceiling. 

The island is the unexpected star of the show, full of personality and function! How great did the color turn out?

To layer in some additional visual interest we kept a portion of the perimeter cabinetry on the back wall off the ceiling to give this space more of a hutch look. By reducing the overall height and changing the finish (Benjamin Moore's  Smokey Taupe 983) this piece really looks more like a piece of furniture. I also designed a custom backsplash (remember this Instagram sneak peek from last year?) with antique mirror and then Construction Resources provided the most beautiful wood countertops to really finish off this piece. 

The two doors that come down to the counter are actually appliance garages to store items like the toaster, blender, etc...and the glass doors are the perfect place to display pretty glassware. 

The one big design change that we did make was the removal of a desk area that filled the entire corner next to the refrigerator. While the desk worked nicely as a landing pad for any and all organization, it took up valuable kitchen storage space. The desk was moved elsewhere and in its place we designed tall pantry storage. Not only did this up the functionality, but I think the towers visually flow better off the tall refrigerator cabinetry. 

The countertops are Perla Venata quartzite from Walker Zanger and were fabricated and installed by Construction Resources. They are truly stunning with their simple edge detail and beautiful movement. 

The floors were also redone and the best part? They are tiles, not wood which makes them much easier to upkeep. The tile is a 6" x 16" Vein Cut Travertine called Prado, also from Walker Zanger.

This was certainly a fun project to work on and the clients could not of been more open minded and cool. Does it get better than increased functionality and loads of personality layered into one kitchen remodel? Nahhhh, didn't think so.

All finished photography by Galina Coada

Spotted - City Scope Magazine

Well, I got a pretty exciting text from my Mom the other day...

Mom: "Isn't this your kitchen?"

:::Below image attached:::

Photo from City Scope Magazine's website.

Me: HEY!!! It is!!

Recognize this space? It's my Chattanooga Kitchen and it's featured in Chattanooga's City Scope Magazine! Each year the magazine puts out a Home & Design Edition and I was so excited to find out a kitchen I did was included!

The spread on this house was centered around the total transformation of the home and highlights the interior decorator that assisted with the decor. However, I was thrilled to see a full two page spread on the kitchen full of Bell Cabinetry!

Chattanooga friends - I hope you will grab a copy of this magazine and check it out!

Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own.   

Luxury Living Show 2013

Well, it's MY WEDDING WEEK!! In a mere three days I will be a married woman - crazy, crazy!

As most of you know there is no shortage of super exciting things going on in my life right now. Wedding, new house, NKBA's 30 Under 30, tons of fun projects and now this....... Mike Bell and I are featured in the May issue of Atlanta Homes &  Lifestyles magazine along with Joel Kelly for our work with this year's Luxury Living Show Kitchen.

Photo from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine.

 This is the fourth year Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles has partnered with Phipps Plaza to host the Luxury Living Show here in Atlanta. This is also the fourth year Bell Kitchen & Bath Studios has built and co-designed the full sized kitchen, and this year I was a part of the team! 

 

Photo from Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles Magazine.

 

Mike Bell and I worked with Joel Kelly to bring this year's kitchen to life. While the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Luxury Living Show Kitchens were beautiful and special in their own unique way, we are very excited about what has been created this year. This year's kitchen features sleek lines and loads of functionality. The finishes throughout the space are unique and will add depth and interest that we hope will inspire viewers. For the first time, not only will the outside of the kitchen be beautiful but the inside of the cabinets will be a show all on their own - thanks Blum & Sur La Table.

 

Cambria countertops from every one's favorite Construction Resources, Sub-Zero Wolf appliances, Traditions in Tile and of course Bell Cabinetry will all be present at this year's show.

 

Below is a sneak peek of this year's kitchen......

 

 

Photo my own.

 

The cabinetry was put together last week so the countertops could be templated. Above is a fun shot of Mike Bell and install manager, Todd going over details of the space. After the countertops were templated, the kitchen was broken down and is currently being finished, getting ready for install later this week.

 

The show is right around the corner, May 9th - 12th AKA Mother's Day Weekend AKA days before I leave on my honeymoon ( I couldn't miss this show, Italy will have to wait :) ) So, grab the mother in your life and make plans to head down to Phipps Plaza to enjoy this year's beautiful dream kitchen.

**If you won't be in or around Atlanta May 9th - 12th, the kitchen will be on display all month at Monarch Court. **

 

Alright, this is my last official post as Courtney Foster, sniff, sniff...... :) See you all at Phipps in a few weeks!

 

It's All About The Process

3 day weekends = 4 day work weeks = Ahhhh!!!

Four day work weeks are always fast paced, but add to it the fact that I leave on Sunday for a week in Jamaica.... and this week has been uber super duper oh my gosh I need a drink/massage/nap crazy!

Amongst other things that have been going on this week, I have a big job that started installation yesterday!  I'm excited to watch as this project comes to life, as it has been a fun job for me to work on. This is one of those projects with a lot of depth. Hours of thought, consideration and tweaking have gone into this project as we (myself and the homeowner) have striven to make these cabinets more than just boxes, but functional aesthetic anchors to the space.

This is a new construction project and the homeowner came to me at the end of last year interested in Inspirations Kitchen & Bath Studio doing the cabinetry for the kitchen and the master bath. As we worked on these spaces we eventually were given the opportunity to provide cabinetry for the laundry room, mudroom/desk area, children's baths and all secondary bathrooms. The best part about this project is that every room is different, and the decisions made regarding the design, wood species, cabinet finishes, hardware selections and door styles were not made lightly.  Thankfully, we came upon each of these decisions one at a time so as to avoid making the process overwhelming.

Here's a glimpse into the process of creating beautiful rooms with beautiful cabinetry.

Designs usually start like this - graph paper sketches. Drawings like these are conceptual and a starting point to build on.

From my sketches come 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional drawings. For this project we went through several versions of the designs as we tweaked here and there, really thinking about how the space would be used. We moved several key pieces, specifically the microwave and prep sink a few times until we settled on the location we felt would work the best.

Here is one of the kitchen perspectives. As you can see, it's as if you are in the space, and really gives the client the opportunity to get a feel for what the space will really look like.

Once the design layouts have been confirmed, we start looking at door styles and finishes. This is where the space really starts to get it's personality!

Here is our door gallery.

As I mentioned above, we used several different door styles and finishes for the cabinetry in this home.  Interestingly despite the plethora of door styles we have to look through, we came upon the decisions for the various door styles fairly quickly. It was the finishes that took some time and consideration.

These are just some of the finish samples we have to look through.

All of the rooms have painted cabinetry except for the kitchen and powder room, which are stained. The stained finishes for both spaces were fairly easy decisions, it was the paints that took some time to select. Because Bell Cabinetry is custom, you can pick any color out there and we can match it!

And I mean literally ANY color..............

And finally it's time to choose the cabinet jewelry aka the hardware. This process is very important and requires attention to scale. We go through every room and choose the pieces of hardware that would work best given the decisions we've already made - design, door style and finish. 

Once we have chosen the specific pieces of hardware for each room, I draw the hardware on the cabinet elevations to acquire the hardware count as well as get a visual on what the hardware will look like on each and every door and drawer front. I love, love, love the hardware selections for this project. We are still buttoning up some final decisions but we are tossing around using some really cool pieces!

This may seem like a lot of decisions and detail, and it is. But, these are the elements that make a space unique. And believe it or not, there are even MORE decisions and details that I'm not including - think drawer organizers, spice pullouts, trash/recycling, roll outs, tray dividers, appliance lifts, etc...Yeah, it's a lot, but it's fun. And at the end of the day when you are living in the space that you have poured so much thought into, you will be happy and forever thankful for the time you spent fine tuning these decisions. I know this will be the case for this client.

Confession: As I write this blog, I don't hope my client will be happy, I already know she is. She called me this yesterday, very excited (best calls ever) about the cabinets that had been installed so far (kitchen & laundry)!! I can't wait to see for myself this afternoon!

Here are the cabinets all packed up on Thursday, ready to go! Stay tuned, finished shots coming soon!

All photographs included in this post are my own.