MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Colleen Slack first stepped into this Woodland, MN, kitchen a few years ago when her clients asked her to make some tweaks that would buy some time until they could do a full-fledged remodel. They loved their home’s densely wooded location with its treehouse-like views, but its circa 1978 kitchen with dark wood cabinets, sloping floors covered in uneven terracotta tiles and solid surface counters were long-since outdated. Plus, an imposing ventilation hood and space-dominating indoor grill made the island a cumbersome, awkward workstation.
Slack’s first task was to replace the grill with a custom cutting board.
“It was a short-term fix that gave them more usable counter space,” says the owner of Fox Interiors in Minneapolis. “But long-term they wanted to transform the cold, dated kitchen into a warm, welcoming and functional environment for cooking, eating and working from home.”
FLOATING SHELVES
Serve as display for travel mementos
RAISED ISLAND BAR
Adds interest and gives the island a unique look
BOOK-MATCHED WALNUT CABINETRY
Grain flows perfectly from panel to panel and from drawer to drawer
Fast-forward a couple of years and the homeowners were ready to embark on their long-awaited complete kitchen renovation. With a desire to introduce neutral, classic and sophisticated modern finishes that would fit with updates recently made throughout the rest of the home, Slack focused on including an earthy palette with warm wood and warm gray tones, premium appliances and plenty of storage. As well, she widened the opening to the adjacent den, which brought in more light and improved circulation throughout the spaces.
Warm tones for the kitchen were addressed via custom walnut cabinetry and floating shelves from Steven Cabinets; Coco Cohiba granite countertops; greige ceramic backsplash tiles from Fireclay Tile; 24″x24″ gray floor tiles from Fioranese Ceramica, and an accent wall sheathed in Schumacher wallpaper.
A ‘drop-zone’ area at one end of the island provides a convenient place to set a sheet of cookies freshly baked in the built-in wall ovens.
The interior rollouts are faced with walnut so they match the cabinetry.
“The cabinetry in this kitchen is stunning,” says the designer. “We did amazing book-matched walnut where the grain flows perfectly from panel to panel and from drawer to drawer. Even the end panels and the faces of the end drawers on the island are mitered to create a continuous, horizontal grain wrapping, without a visible end panel front edge. The sides look completely flush.”
Slack also faced the interior rollouts with walnut so they would match the cabinetry.
“There is a tiny gap between the cabinetry doors due to the edge-pull door hardware [from Emtek],” she explains. “The rollouts are visible through that gap, even when the doors are closed, so I wanted them to match the cabinetry for a seamless aesthetic.”
Slack repeated walnut for the floating shelves, which her clients use to display mementos from their travels, including excursions to Mount Kilimanjaro, the Alaskan wilderness, South America and Africa. Recessed LED lights beneath the shelves and Cedar & Moss spotlight sconces on the wall illuminate their treasures and cast a warm glow on the handmade tile backsplash.
In addition to providing casual seating, the banquette also serves as a work-from-home ‘office’ where the homeowners can sit with their laptops and enjoy the verdant, treehouse-like view.
Biophilic benefits
With its brown and black tones, the granite countertops pair beautifully with the walnut cabinetry and unite the project’s overall color palette. Selecting a suede finish provides a bit of texture that highlights the veining pattern and creates a tactile user experience that enhances the biophilic benefits of using natural materials.
“These clients love natural stone and they wanted to include it in this kitchen,” she indicates. “We used a gorgeous light-colored granite with a lot of movement in their previous home, but they wanted something more subtle and textural this time around. This Coco Cohiba has more quiet movement, which provides interest without overpowering other design elements. It draws attention to the beautiful wood as a supporting actor, rather than as the star of the show.”
To add interest and give the island a distinctive look, Colleen Slack created a raised bar with a thick 6″ mitered edge and waterfall detail. The former delineates a place for casual seating while the latter provides a visual break.
Colleen Slack focused on including an earthy palette with warm wood and warm gray tones, premium appliances and plenty of storage. As well, she widened the opening to the adjacent den, which brought in more light and improved circulation throughout the spaces.
To add interest and give the island a unique look, Slack created a raised bar with a thick 6″ mitered edge and waterfall detail. The former delineates a place for casual seating while the latter provides a visual break. Custom steel framework beneath the stone supports its weight and distributes it across the island.
A ‘drop-zone’ area at one end of the island ensures the homeowners have a convenient place to set a sheet of cookies freshly baked in the built-in Wolf wall ovens or a dinner plate of chicken reheated in the Wolf microwave drawer. As well, items cooled in the Sub-Zero refrigerator are within easy reach.
The island is also home to a 48″ Wolf cooktop, ventilated with a remote-controlled ceiling-mounted Wolf hood.
“The homeowners were more than happy to get rid of the much-hated giant vent hood, nicknamed ‘the head basher’ because it was a point of pain every time they cooked,” she remarks, in reference to the original 36″x90″ double vent hood above the island. “On the day of its demolition, they even joked about skipping work to swing the sledgehammer!
“Replacing the original hood with a sleek, ceiling-mounted model was a key design move since it opened up the kitchen, allowing the design to take center stage,” she continues. “It also created better sight lines through the space so the homeowners can actually enjoy the view.”
The homeowners were more than happy to get rid of the much-hated ‘head-basher’ double vent hood above the island. Replacing it with a ceiling-mounted model opens up the kitchen and creates better sight lines so they can enjoy the view.
Specialized storage
Improved storage was critical to the design as well. As such, Slack included wide drawers below the island cooktop for pots and pans. Pullouts on either side keep spices and oils close at hand. Pantry rollouts on the perimeter wall were designed for specific pantry items with height spacing predetermined for canned goods versus cereal boxes versus jars of nuts, etc. Additionally, a bread drawer, corner drawer unit and cookie sheet/cutting board pullouts are positioned strategically for their point of use.
Slack also addressed storage needs for the couple’s two rescue dogs by including adjustable-height rollouts that can accommodate large food containers in the sideboard located next to the banquette. In addition to providing casual seating, the banquette also serves as a work-from-home ‘office’ where her clients can sit with their laptops and enjoy the verdant, treehouse-like view. Sillite outlets, which are also used on the island, are integrated into end panels to blend into the walnut. Schumacher wallpaper, which sheaths an entire wall, brings in texture and pattern to the quiet palette.
“This entire section of the kitchen was previously underutilized,” the designer relates. “But now it’s a very functional, cozy area with a strong connection to adjacent rooms and the outdoors.”
