Southern Studio Interior Design

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

- John Muir

The Inside Scoop introduces another feature for 2010: Beautiful Spaces and Places! I’m starting the series in one of my favorite spaces of the home…the kitchen. I love to design kitchens because they require great planning and skill to make them functional, but also allow for creative flexibility to reflect a personal style. It’s the combination of technical and creative challenges that I relish!

Now, a few beautiful kitchens to enjoy and savor that recently caught my attention in a few of my favorite publications (and I had to add some commentary too)!

I’m a fan of open shelving in a kitchen. It obviously has pros and cons, but I find that it makes storage accessible and visible. It’s especially convenient in a kitchen with multiple chefs.

As with most interior spaces, lighting plays a huge role. Layering light with multiple sources offers the greatest flexibility to create a variety of moods.

Another kitchen with open shelving for display. Notice the mixture of countertop materials…love the wood island top.

I am always a fan of maximizing space and stacking cabinets to the ceiling. It definitely adds to the cost, but the visual impact is worth it. Do you agree?

This kitchen has so much visual interest….the beautiful texture in the backsplash, the clean lines of the farm sink, the mixture of countertop surfaces, and the mixture of wood finishes. Beautiful details that make a difference.

This is a kitchen I designed which was featured last year on the cover of Impressions magazine, the national publication for Delta Faucet Co. I lost count of how many requests I received from across the country inquiring about these pendant lights. For the record, they are from Murray Feiss but unfortunately have been discontinued.

The kitchen is the heart of the home, so please take the time to design for function and aesthetics. You’ll be glad you did!

Images via Traditional Home, Southern Living, Coastal Living

This past week I received one of those e-mails….a reminder of the incredibly personal connection we have with our homes.

I opened the e-mail and the note began. ”It’s hard to express how I feel….my heart is smiling. I am thrilled. I woke up at 4:30 this morning, couldn’t sleep so excited over the house. It felt like Christmas when we were children.  Thanks for taking a project close to my heart.”

The note was written by a client who took on a major project with personal meaning for her entire family.  30 years ago her parents built a home in Ocean Isle Beach. For years, it served as a gathering place for her five siblings and extended family…so many memories of carefree summers at the beach. After the death of her parents, she and her husband (a very patient man) accepted the challenge of renovating the home so the family memories could continue for the next generation.

The kitchen before (oh, if these walls could talk)….

The kitchen today….

It always bothered Corinne’s mother that the staircase was not installed as originally planned 30 years ago.  We remedied the problem by reversing the staircase; yes, it was rotated and moved. It allowed the living room to be opened to the kitchen with a convenient pass-thru. Here’s the living room before….

And now…

The exterior of the home before…

And now…

As with every successful project, it takes a team of professionals to make it happen!  For this project, the contractor who worked incredible magic was Jeff Sanderson (and his Construction Manager, Dino Viscosi) with Whitney Blair. The cabinetry was custom-made by a true craftsman, Kirk Riffel, with Creative Cabinetry.

Corinne, it was absolutely my pleasure to play a small role in such a meaningful project. Your parents are proud!