Kitchen Tour Spectacular

Mary Jane Pappas, ASID, CID
16204 Ice Circle Drive, Wayzata
This sleek, uncomplicated European kitchen fits so perfectly with the homeowner’s love of simplicity that it’s hard to believe that the room’s rich, warm colors were at first a stretch. “I’m Scandinavian,” the homeowner says. “I like white. I’ve always had white cabinets.” The dark truffle stained cabinetry defines the space and brings warmth into the room. “I like the people in my home to be the focus,” says the homeowner. “I want everything else to fade into the background.”

Purposefully understated, this remodel consisted of a reconfiguration of both the existing space and the natural lighting. “We made the island narrower to improve the traffic pattern and extended the storage,” says designer Mary Jane Pappas. The homeowner also wanted to keep clutter to a minimum while paying close attention to detail. Thus a large appliance garage hides typical kitchen clutter, the microwave trim is custom-made and stained to match the cabinets, and even the hardware on the cabinetry matches the hardware on the double ovens and refrigerator, making the entire room easy on the senses. Warm limestone-colored quartz countertops on both the island and work area offer a striking contrast to the cabinetry. To offset the stand-alone vignette, Pappas uses glass cabinet doors with in-cabinet lighting and a bolder polished quartz countertop. “Under-cabinet lighting is used everywhere task lighting is needed and decorative lighting, which is also task-oriented, is used over the island,” says  Pappas. “Spaces just don’t make as much sense if they can’t be lived in properly.”
Resources:
Appliances: Wolf cooktop, Miele oven, GE microwave, Sub-Zero refrigerator
Cabinets: Custom
Countertops: Caesarstone, Cambria
Flooring: Tongue-and-groove oak
Lighting: Hafele, Eureka, Juno Lighting, LBL Lighting

Shirley Bolduc, ASID
6006 Luigi Circle, Bloomington
With plenty of space and a view of her big, lush backyard, this Bloomington kitchen should have been light and expansive; instead, its dark cabinets gave it an outdated feel and the poor organization made it less functional than it could have been. Designer Shirley Bolduc set out to open up the kitchen, make it easier to use, and give it a more classic style.

One of the chief goals in the redesign of the kitchen was to work within the existing footprint but give it a functional layout. “Everything was kind of scattered around the kitchen so it didn’t feel like a very user-friendly workspace,” Bolduc says. The cooktop had been on the island, where it impeded traffic flow and made it difficult to multitask. The homeowner wanted the range next to the sink so she could concentrate on cooking and leave the island for serving and casual dining. She also opted for custom cabinets with plenty of creative storage space—including a much-appreciated hidden mail center.

While the footprint barely changed, the kitchen’s style did: the room now blends Tuscan Old World style with a modern flair. Bolduc replaced the dark cabinets with custom cherry cabinets that tie together with the rest of the house and feature soft under-cabinet lighting; wide-plank white oak floors took the place of off-white tiles; and warm granite in Venetian Gold replaces the old laminate countertops. New stainless steel appliances add a modern touch. Finally, the kitchen gains an eclectic twist with white painted cabinets and molding on the island, pendant lights, decorative leaf tiles behind the range, and a unique plaster range overhang with gracefully sloped sides.
Resources:
Appliances: KitchenAid refrigerator, oven; Bosch dishwasher; Jenn-Air range
Cabinets: Custom from Damschen Wood
Countertops: Granite
Flooring: Lon Musolf
Lighting: Minka Lavery, Murray Feiss, Kichler