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Bringing the Sunshine In

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Photo credits to Caryn B Davis. www.carynbdavis.com Burst of citrus brings the kitchen to life Outdated oak cabinets, a small island with a tiled top and inadequate work surfaces were the impetuses these homeowners used to make changes to their quaint Madison summer home.   With no true focal point and double entrances to the kitchen work space, the original layout became a busy thoroughfare and did not give the chef of the day enough space to create his or her signature dish.   In order to remedy these design challenges and drawing on their passion for color, the owners became inspired by an eye-catching, pumpkin orange Viking 48 inch range that became the heart from which the new look began to evolve. “Cheerful” was at the top of the homeowner’s wish list as was a more functional and spacious kitchen.   The home is owned by 2 brothers and their wives and summer draws a large crowd where relaxing and entertaining go hand in hand.   Both familie...

Beach Beauty: Fresh Kitchen Design Meets 1920’s Home

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Maddison kitchen has a new look It was a desperate need for working appliances that actually led this homeowner on a mission to remodel her kitchen. Although there had been a few updates to this 1920’s Madison beach front home, the time had come to tap into some hidden potential and bring the kitchen and sun porch into the 21 st century. "Before" image in much the same angle as above The porch had a fiber board drop ceiling which when removed showed that the original ceiling followed the roof line and was beadboard, replacing the ceiling following the roof line with new beadboard kept the space in the period of the home. A pale robin’s egg blue on the ceiling is reminiscent of sky and draws the eye through the space ties in the kitchen walls which are another shade of that same blue. Wanting to take advantage of natural light, Ciccarello reworked theses spaces to create a cohesive plan, and a more casual feel. Door locations were changed to add much...

Best of the Best: Old World meets New World…

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Dream Kitchen & Baths magazine’s cover on the 2011 spring issue is a Covenant Kitchen!! Showcased as one of the thirty timeless looks, this kitchen was one of the winners of the NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) design competition in 2009. European travel influence newlyweds’ style sense. These newlyweds were combining two households and were searching for one voice for their collective style. Before they were married, life was simple - design-wise that is. Each leaned toward clean lines. But it was their love of travel that inspired them to collect antiques from around the world. The objects they purchased were more “old world” than contemporary. Enter Covenant Kitchens & Baths in Westbrook. The designers there helped create a kitchen that would utilize the couple’s one-of-a-kind treasures. First there were some logistics involved. Moving the kitchen from the dark north side of the house to the spot where the dining room had been, next ...

Covenant Wins First Place: Traditional Design 2010 Clarke Sub-Zero Wolf Design Competition

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April 8, 2011 More than 300 New England architects and designers recently filled the Clarke showroom in Milford, MA for Clarke’s Fourth Annual Designer Appreciation Night. Clarke awarded trophies to six top designers around New England for their innovative use of Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances in kitchens and other rooms in the home. Clarke’s top three specifiers were also distinguished for their leadership in integration of these high-performance ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, refrigerators, wine storage and more into their vision of what a kitchen could be. Gerard Ciccarello of Covennant Kitchens & Baths, Westbrook, CT receiving his top honors in The Clarke Design Awards from Clarke Director of Marketing Jim Raftus. Gerard Ciccarello, CMKBD, owner of Covenant Kitchens & Baths, Inc. won first place in the New England Clarke Sub-Zero Wolf Design Competition. Only awarding six trophies was a tough call when judges were faced with over 60 entries. Clarke is New England...

Case Study: "Trending Towards Contemporary" Clean crisp lines are anything but boring.....

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Every design project has it’s challenges and this was no exception to the rule for the designers at Covenant Kitchens and Baths in Westbrook, CT. This Old Saybrook eclectic colonial style home is unassuming on the outside but the inside has taken a beautiful bent toward the home owner’s contemporary tastes. The scope of this renovation was to gut and remodel the kitchen, powder room, master bath and a secondary bath. Upon its renovation the kitchen most definitely has become the focal point of the home. Angular and dated despite a bank of windows showcasing the view of the marsh, the kitchen seemed dim, small and cave-like. The homeowner wanted bigger appliances and a dramatic, contemporary look without changing the footprint of the kitchen or sacrificing storage space. “Being able to make the room seem larger without increasing the footprint of the home was tripping us up for a bit.” says Ciccarello, owner of Covenant Kitchens and Baths. “We came up with the idea to vault the cei...

Bachelor Bliss…

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Combining hall space with a closet and a small out dated bathroom we were able to create this elegantly understated ultimate bachelor suite in soothing shades of espresso and cream. The wish list included a generous sized steam shower with a seat, two lavatories, linen storage, a clothes hamper, a separate water closet and a large well organized and well lit walk-in closet. Honed Imperial Cream travertine tile laid on the floor in random size and pattern acts as a dramatic backdrop for the rich stained cherry vanity cabinet and is capped off with a travertine counter top including his and her sinks. Hammered bronze vanity hardware mimics the band of metal tiles surrounding the shower. Simple yet stately, cherry crown moldings grace the space and tie the cabinetry together keeping the over all look from being too fussy. Cherry door frames, pocket doors and a cherry display niche in the water closet add the finishing touches. Being an interior space without windows made the room quite d...

The Little Kitchen that Could…

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Situated on a gently winding section of the Black Hall River Marsh in Old Lyme, the original part of this hybrid home was built in 1840 with several additions over time. The latest addition brings new life to Kevin and Nancy Murphy’s petite kitchen which opens to a cathedral ceiling living room with dazzling views of the sunset where marshland meets farmland on the river bend. A spectacular view is like having seasonally changing artwork and the design of the space was to showcase the view. The kitchen ceiling is not quite 7 feet which made designing the pieces to the appropriate scale imperative to the overall look and balance of the space. Even the size of the pendant lighting became crucial to the overall design due to the low ceiling. “Although small, this kitchen has all the perks of a larger space, the trick for us was how to fit it all into the plan without overpowering the design,” Gerard Ciccarello, owner of Covenant Kitchens & Baths, explains. Proper dimensions being ...