California Rustic Style Wins ‘Freedom’ Contest

Huntington Beach, CA— Design freedom might sound like an elaborate plan for a jailbreak, but for the top three finalists in Thermador’s Freedom Collection Design Contest, freedom is about creativity, comfort and high style.

Thermador, a division of BSH Home Appliances based here, created the contest to display kitchens that would stylishly incorporate its line of Freedom Collection modular refrigerator systems.

The luxury appliance maker partnered with Candice Olson, host of HGTV’s “Divine Design,” who judged the entries.

Finalists were announced on the Thermador Web site – www.thermador.com/freedom.

“The Thermador Freedom Collection allows designers to create truly custom kitchens with unprecedented flexibility, rather than be limited by the placement of a bulky refrigerator/freezer combination,” said Holger Fietz, Thermador’s director of brand marketing.

“We sent out a call to the design community and they responded with a lot of creativity, so we applaud all of the winners and entrants of the Freedom Collection Design Contest,” he explained.

The three winners will share $150,000 in cash and prizes, as well as recognition in national publicity for the collection.

And the Winner Is…

Designer Jennifer Allison of Torrance, CA-based Elite Homes worked on the 4,500-sq.-ft. spec home on the Palos Verdes peninsula and, in a clairvoyant moment, announced upon its completion that the finished product was going to win the Thermador competition.

“Everyone laughed at my confidence, but I just knew,” the designer says.

Allison’s Great-Room-style layout is a mix of colors, textures and Craftsmanesque touches that can be summed up as a kind of California Rustic.

The designer describes the home as “informal,” with a largely open format. Building restrictions that came from the terracing of the property also resulted in a clear and stunning view of the outdoors.

Allison worked with the architect in the blueprint stage to redesign the kitchen’s layout prior to construction to allow a straight view from the multi-tiered island workstation. This gave the resident chef(s) a view of the Great Room and, beyond that, the Pacific Ocean.

“I always like to design the island to face the family,” says Allison.

The island, topped in polished Inca Gold limestone, is designed to conceal the sink area from view, to keep dirty dishes out of sight and maintain clean visual lines, according to the designer.

The rich woods in the kitchen start with California Select custom cabinetry in alder with hand-applied distressing and finishes.
The contrasting buffet was treated with a six-step color process and acts as the room’s central anchoring focal point. The unique piece is flanked on either side by the integrated refrigerator and freezer columns.

The designer believes the division of sink/prep/refrigeration and prep/cooktop/oven workspaces is what made the design stand out.

“It manages to be a luxurious, wide-open space while retaining separate work stations for multiple cooks,” says Allison.

Candice Olson agrees. “Jennifer’s design made beautiful use of two key features of the Thermador Freedom Collection: the ability to separate the columns from one another to create multiple functional work spaces, as well as the seamless integration it offers with custom cabinetry,” she says of Allison’s inspired design.

The multiple shades and textures have light-against-dark interplay throughout the space.

The 48" stainless steel range sits beneath a mosaic of tumbled tiles whose lighter shades match those of the buffet.

Other appliances in stainless steel include a Thermador wine chiller and dishwasher.

The ceiling and floor mimic one another. The floor is made of 5" custom distressed bleached walnut hardwood planks, whose dark knots recall the ceiling above, which Allison says was inspired by the look of the traditional Tuscan farmhouse.