A Kitchen with Creative Cabinet Solutions
Sacrificing cabinets for their views, a couple finds creative space solutions for their light and airy kitchen
By Mervyn Kaufman
Photo: Sam Gray
Equipped with a center island and commercial stainless steel appliances plus a double-sink unit, this industrial-style chef's work center has just about everything—except a surfeit of kitchen cabinets.
"The owner wanted an open, urbane kitchen that was highly functional and super-utilitarian, one that would not obstruct views of the woods and river outside," said designer/builder Charles Ferguson, of the Meridian Company in Beaufort, South Carolina. "And he wanted great flexibility."
Ferguson, in turn, added a Greenville architect, Charles Lachanos, to the team. Together, they came up with a low-budget design that really takes the toque. Lachanos took advantage of the kitchen's 14-foot-high walls and turned the 300-square-foot space into a loftlike setting. By putting banks of windows on two of the walls, he complemented the architecture of the shingle-style house and underscored the beauty of the owner's 26-acre property on tranquil Coosaw Island.
"The biggest challenge was finding a place for storage," said Lachanos. "With so many windows in this room, there was no place to put cabinets." So, Ferguson turned to a kitchen-supply house and substituted rolling stainless steel tables for fixed cabinets. One table has become the 4-by-4-foot central island; others stand side by side, forming a countertop around the kitchen's perimeter. The tables cost no more than $120 each, much less expensive than conventional cabinetry. "They can all be rolled around as needed," Ferguson declared. "When the cook is working, they can be pulled together; when people are eating in the kitchen, the island can be pushed aside and set up as a small table. Even the range can be moved out a few inches from the wall."
To facilitate storage and give the tables a less sterile look, Ferguson specified drawer boxes of dovetailed mahogany, lined with maple, that fit on the shelves of the worktables. The woody warmth complements the wide reclaimed Douglas fir planks of the floor and the stucco fireplace.
Glass shelves mounted within some of the windows form artistic perches for glassware and china, and industrial track lighting can be adjusted to illuminate individual workstations to suit the task at hand. A stand-up mahogany pantry, which Ferguson designed to match the table drawers, provides a convenient spot for food storage.
"This design not only shows off kitchen equipment but also fits in with the sculptural nature of the house," Lachanos remarked. "What we produced is eco-friendly—we're not using hardwoods or wasting trees on cabinetry." And should the owner ever decide to move, all he has to do is roll his kitchen into his new home.
From Contemporary Kitchen Style by Mervyn Kaufman (2009, Filipacchi Publishing). For information on this and other home improvement books, go to HFMbooks.com
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