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Showing posts from March, 2011

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