Crystal Design Winners Feature Eye for Detail, Style

Crystal Design Winners Feature Eye for Detail, Style

With that in mind, Crystal's 2003 Design Contest initiated in 1999 by Crystal Cabinet Works, Inc., based here serves as a tool to recognize extraordinary kitchen projects designed using the company's cabinetry.

For example, in the design that took top honors in the contest's Kitchen category, designer Katrina Shirk of Cincinnati, OH-based Nisbet Brower used Crystal's Deephaven Inset cabinetry which features a CGH with Signature Antique White and Butterscotch highlights, as well as Premium Alder with a Signature Salem finish and Port highlights. A plethora of unique cabinetry details such as grape Enkenboll corbels, moldings and onlays, reeded torus assemblies and a three-piece stacked crown molding help to create a stunning Country French kitchen that's rich in detail.

Three-centimeter Labrador Golden granite countertops with ogee edges and limestone tiles on the backsplash add to the Country French feel of this kitchen design. High-end appliances, such as an existing 48" Sub-Zero unit with new, matching wood panels and a 48" GE Monogram stainless steel, dual-fuel professional range and warming drawer, offer both functional value and beauty.
Meanwhile, second-place winner Connie Strohmyer of CS Kitchen & Bath Studio in Lincoln, NE applied custom cherry wood cabinetry from Crystal with a Signature Nutmeg finish to her kitchen layout, creating a beautiful, yet functional Arts-and-Crafts design. The kitchen also features granite Verde Butterfly countertops, porcelain tile flooring and such upscale appliances as a 48" Sub-Zero unit and 36" Viking Range Corp. cooktop, warming drawer and ovens.

According to Jeanine Weinzierl, director of marketing services for Crystal, these wining projects along with the other roughly 140 submissions that came in from throughout the U.S., Canada and the Bahamas were judged on the appropriateness of the elements used, the overall use of space, how well the designer or dealer overcame the design challenges of the space and how well the space translates in photography.

All winners whose projects were completed between July 2001 and December 2002 received award plaques, while first-place winners received a $1,500 gift certificate, plus promotional opportunities in Crystal's marketing materials schedule.

Following is a snapshot of this year's winning designs in the Kitchen and Other Rooms categories.

Eye for detail
Earning grand-prize honors this year, Nisbet Brower's Shirk displayed a keen eye for detail in this Country French kitchen remodel, according to Weinzierl.

"One of the main reasons she won was that she had an elaborate use of crown molding," Weinzierl explains, pointing to the aforementioned reeded torus assemblies, grape Enkeboll corbels, moldings and onlays, and a three-piece stacked crown molding.
Shirk's use of Deephaven Inset cabinetry creates an inviting feel for the space, Weinzierl notes. "This kitchen combines the traditional formal look of the painted cabinets with the warmth of the Premium Alder island."

However, she notes, the focal point of the kitchen is the custom mantle hood, which features applied molding, Enkeboll molding and Enkeboll corbels.

"One of the custom tall cabinets has two sections with tip-up pocket doors to hide the GE Profile microwave in one and small appliances in the second," she adds.

Completing the design are a Franke sink, Blanco faucets and ceramic tile flooring.

Work of Art
In second-place winner Strohmyer's new-construction kitchen design, Arts-and-Crafts style was turned into a work of art, notes Weinzierl. The design features a functional layout with a Prairie-style design approach.

"This octagonal kitchen space needed to reflect the Prairie features in the rest of this home. It is a good interpretation of the Arts-and-Crafts style," says Weinzierl.