RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Detail of Hudson Reed faucet, corian sink, and granite counter top at a Nuuanu residence.
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Design peeks
Ten homes open to offer inspiration at the 19th annual Great Kitchen & Bath Tour
What kind of homeowner would allow dozens of strangers to poke through their kitchen drawers or inspect their bathroom cabinets? One pleased with the workmanship. Homeowners on Oahu opened their doors Sunday to 400 people on the Great Kitchen & Bath Tour, now in its 19th year. The tour is a showcase for remodeled kitchens and bathrooms, as part of an annual trade show for the Aloha Chapter of the National Kitchen and Bath Association.
Instructors, trade professionals and curious homeowners headed for stops in Aina Haina, Kahala, Manoa, Nuuanu, Pali, Punchbowl and Mililani: Designers and manufacturing representatives were on hand at 10 homes to discuss trends, products and design plans. Proceeds raised through the $10 tickets went to Honolulu Habitat for Humanity.
So, what's making a splash in kitchens and bathrooms nationally? For starters, built-ins for every appliance imaginable, new countertop finishes and color schemes that are anything but neutral. How are local designers taking into the trends into account while accommodating the requests of homeowners?
Take the Great Kitchen and Bath Tour without leaving your seat.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Detail of granite counter tops, chiseled backsplash, and flush-with-wall cabinets from a Mililani home.
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Mililani
Design company: Cabinets 4 You
Project: Kitchen remodeling
Background story: For this home, the design company received the Phil Zweedyk Award and a technical merit award in the National Kitchen Bath Association design competition.
Challenge: Play up the view, not only outside, but inside. Open up the kitchen to create a focal point centering on the atrium, where a tree is rooted in the middle of the foyer.
Updates: "Let the outdoors in," said Derrick Partain of his design plans for this understated but elegant kitchen. Two walls were knocked down to make the atrium visible from the cooking area. The natural color scheme was echoed in yellows and greens on the walls and high ceilings, as well as in the maple cabinetry and the slate floor that extends into the foyer.
Partain picked out stainless-steel appliances from Servco with his client before creating his design. Multiple materials create added interest, including "mix-and-match" metals and two types of surfaces -- granite in burnished browns for countertops as well as an engineered, nonporous material in soft yellow for the bar. A project of this scope would average around $175,000, said Partain.
Final thoughts: "Though we're seeing a lot of contemporary-style kitchens, we're now seeing a move toward Hawaiian style with the baby-boomer generation. A lot of people are really embracing Hawaii as a retreat from the mainland after Sept. 11, and I wouldn't be surprised if the style starts spreading back toward the mainland."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Detail of Verde Marinace granite counter top, and Thermadore stove from the samehome.
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Manoa
Design company: Dangler Design
Project: Kitchen remodeling
Background story/challenge: Give a retired couple with three grown daughters more space to maneuver around their kitchen -- without actually knocking down walls in this once turquoise-tinged space.
Updates: Designer R. Breck Dangler kept the family's original appliances in this 12-by-12-foot kitchen and focused on making the layout more functional. Among his changes: moving the stove from the entrance to a back corner and moving the blower outside the house.
He also added a new peninsula for more work space and as a gathering spot. "Semi-customized" cherry wood cabinetry came from DeWils Custom Cabinetry, scratch-proof quartz countertops from Zodiaq and maple flooring from Renaissance Hardwood Floors.
Dangler created an alcove alongside the refrigerator for the countertop microwave, instead of his trademark style -- a built-in inside the front of a wall cabinet. The sink also got a style update through a single-bowl sink. He completed the project by repainting the kitchen in a quiet shade of cool blue.
Final thoughts: "Know who you're designing for -- start asking questions to find out if they want a space for entertaining or something functional. This family wanted an understated room, an uncluttered kitchen with better storage."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Original appliances were kept in the redesign of this Manoa kitchen. A new peninsula was added for more workspace and doubles as a gathering place for the family.
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Nuuanu
Design company: Dreamland Builders
Project: Kitchen and bath remodeling
Background story: Dale Maron is the owner and designer of this single-wall home, which he bought for about $1.25 million in March the night before it was to go on the auction block. He has added 600 square feet to the original 1,900 square feet, turning the two-bed, two-bath house into a three-bed, three-bath. An 800-square-foot maintenance cottage is also on the property. The house will be put up for sale after all projects are completed; Maron began with the kitchen first.
Challenge: Though the home was built in the 1940s, the 10-by-16-foot kitchen was entrenched in the 1970s.
Updates: Maron, a certified kitchen and bath installer, updated the kitchen with a sophisticated wine-and-green color palette. Beaded-board cabinets reminiscent of the 1920 and '30s mix with glass-front cabinets. Most of the cabinets are laid out asymmetrically, except for two curved cupboards fitted between archways leading to the living room.
Professional-grade appliances from Thermador complete the new look, along with granite countertops in rich greens.
Maron also turned the master bathroom into a spacious haven with his-and-her sinks and a detached tub and shower. He added organic touches of curvy sink bowls and egg-shaped faucets.
Isn't that interesting: The all-wood kitchen cabinets are from Home Depot, and those sleek, rounded bathroom faucets were purchased off the Internet for $69 -- shipping included -- through the English company Hudson Reed.
Final thoughts: Though kitchens and bathrooms are generally increasing in size, not every designer is giving in to the trend. "Though it's not a large space, the (kitchen's) scale is right," said Maron. "This was the room that I immediately wanted to work on because this is the room in the house that gets (couples) to talk about buying a place."
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cherry cabinetry by DeWils, and Zodiaq Quartz counter surfacing were built into a Manoa kitchen.
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Punchbowl
Design company: DESiGNER Kitchens & Baths
Project: Kitchen remodeling
Background story: Designer Judy Dawson is the former chairwoman of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. This home had been a rental for years until the owners decided to make it their primary residence.
Challenge: Give this former rental new life.
Updates: This kitchen was given a mostly contemporary look with some Art Deco and Asian accents added. Dawson took her cue from the rest of the house, matching the style of kitchen to the other rooms. But she also incorporated two contemporary trends: furniturelike pieces and artwork in the kitchen.
She removed overhead cabinets and outfitted the kitchen with long, low panels of dresser-type drawers with vertical and horizontal panels, items that carried over into the living room through a matching buffet. The lacquered black drawers, which hide the couple's appliances, were outfitted with imported satin stainless-steel hardware in a variety of shapes and sizes to break up uniformity.
Another surprise: A backsplash serves as a piece of artwork, with a mosaic made from varying patterns of granite and inlaid with handmade, lilac-colored glass tiles. A sitting area has touches of Art Deco, with plum-colored seats and a stylized steel base.
Final thoughts: The notion that kitchens must be purely functional is long gone, said Dawson. "I've think we'll be seeing a lot of new materials mixed together -- stainless steel with different granites in an arrangement that is aesthetically pleasing. For a long time makers didn't like breaking up their countertops, but nowadays that's what customers really want to see."
