At-Home Havens

Everyone craves a relaxing respite now and then – a place to get away from life’s everyday stresses. Well, what if that special sanctuary was through the front door of our very own home?

This was the concept behind the 10,000-sq.-ft. Design Idea Center, created by the Meredith Corporation and the National Kitchen & Bath Association. Presented at the 2007 Kitchen/Bath Industry Show & Conference in Las Vegas last month, the five kitchen and bath design concepts – developed and presented by five of Meredith’s shelter magazines – captured the theme of “getting away” without venturing away from home.

With “Destination Home: Everyday Getaways” as its theme, the publications – Kitchen and Bath Ideas, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Home, Traditional Home and Midwest Living – each created kitchen and bath vignettes based on their targeted readership.

The Traveling Gourmet

The Kitchen and Bath Ideas magazine space – “Gourmet Traveler At Home” – is designed for the well-traveled couple who enjoy sampling food and wine. The 772-sq.-ft. area includes a gourmet kitchen, butler’s pantry and wine room, all designed around the idea of including guests in the preparation and enjoyment of food and drink.

Rebekah Zaveloff, CKD, designer, KitchenLab, LLC, who designed the space, used a blend of cabinetry finishes and styles to add a sense of the Old World communal cooking experience, according to Kit Selzer, group editor, Meredith Special Interest Media Kitchen and Bath Group. “It feels as though the elements have been collected over time,” Selzer notes.
A freestanding semi-custom china hutch in KraftMaid Cabinetry’s Abington Oak in Cognac, as well as islands in KraftMaid’s Mandolay Maple in Amber Glaze, provide furniture-type touches to the room.

In keeping with the vintage feel, the kitchen includes a white Kohler Harborview Wall-Mount Utility Sink with legs and Kohler dual faucets in vibrant brushed nickel. A green and off-white patterned glass tile mosaic of interlocking circles from Erin Adams Design Inc. for Ann Sacks acts as a backsplash behind the sink and along three walls, adding a touch of classic whimsy while tying together the colors of the room.

Multiple work areas of different heights are featured, as are countertop cutouts in the prep island. The cutouts are positioned next to the range, and hold removable, washable metal bins that can be filled with a range of oils, utensils, seasonings and garnishes.

The prep island is topped with DuPont Zodiaq quartz surfacing in Papyrus, and includes an Alcott apron front sink with Kohler faucet. The seating island is topped with DuPont Corian in Medea, a darker-toned gray to the Rain Cloud Corian used on the perimeter cabinets of Lindsay maple finished in Vanilla Bean Glaze, also from KraftMaid.

The room’s appliances – Pro Style convection range, dishwasher and side-by-side refrigerator, all from Jenn-Air – are easily accessible from the main sink and island sink.

A dedicated coffee center in KraftMaid’s Mandolay Maple in Amber Glaze features a Jenn-Air undercounter refrigerator and icemaker with custom panel and hardware, with a Jenn-Air microwave oven with convection placed nearby in an appliance garage.

A pass-through butler’s pantry acts as a second kitchen. The room includes an electric double wall oven with convection, warming drawer, French door refrigerator/freezer and dishwasher, all in Oiled Bronze from Jenn-Air. KraftMaid’s Abington oak cabinets in Cognac are topped with DuPont Corian countertops in Rain Cloud. A Kohler Alcott undercounter sink with faucet finish the room.

Guests can easily move from the kitchen to the pass-through pantry to the wine-tasting room. The wine room features a dishwasher and undercounter wine cellars from Jenn-Air, as well as a counter-height island in Mandolay Maple with Vanilla Bean Glaze from KraftMaid Cabinetry. KraftMaid Abington Oak cabinets in Cognac are topped with DuPont Zodiaq in Papyrus, which houses a Gilford apron-front sink from Kohler. The island sports Granite Certified by DuPont in Kashmir White.