The Final Kitchen

By e.l.

Our clients waited 20 years to create the kitchen of their dreams.

First they had to decide where and how they wanted to live as empty nesters. A loft on the Mississippi River was promising but it just didn’t give them all they wanted. And, their 48-inch Viking stove was broken. The ailing stove was pivotal.

One owner is an enthusiastic cook, the other a happy recipient of his efforts.

With the big decision about where to live, one thought led to another and they decided to change their kitchen. Out went the contractor’s cabinets that came with the house.

Early in the design process, they arrived at the P4D showroom to buy high-gloss stone gray Poggenpohl cabinets to get the aesthetic they wanted, the storage they needed and the efficiency that reflects their purposeful nature.

There was no doubt about the cabinet choice. From there the dream evolved from discussions with the project designer. Concerns about the chaos and disruption of a bigger renovation project were tempered by a design created to use existing space and get a lot more from it with a minimum of disruption.

A significant change and one that delights the cook was relocation of the refrigerator. It was moved to the opposite side of the room and made space for a food prep area. The old refrigerator was not flush with the wall and blocked entry and site lines to the kitchen. Placement of the new stainless-steel built-in refrigerator added significant work space and flow to the room. To minimize plumbing changes, a custom three-bowl square corner sink and a Dornbracht pivot faucet serve v-shaped space. The result is more space under and on both sides of the sinks so cabinet doors don’t block adjacent lower-level cabinets. The corner was completed with between-the-glass blind windows from Pella trimmed in back-painted glass for easy maintenance.

The color palate for the room, established early with sleek gray cabinets was enhanced with gray and white granite counter tops. A black granite island counter was rejuvenated and the room brightened with task lights and white painted glass back splashes.

The new kitchen creates a harmonious connection to the couple’s colorful art collection. (Photos/Gilbertson Photography)