Medallion Cabinetry – DESIGNER PROFILE

“With Medallion’s offerings for wood hoods, built-in hutch capabilities, and wood tops for the desks in the office, we knew we couldn’t go wrong!”

What challenges did you face when designing this kitchen?

The home was built in the 1950s and had a very unique feature—the walls were cedar planking. Not a sheet of drywall anywhere. We wanted to modernize it without eliminating the warmth and character of the natural wood. But during construction, the building inspector made us add drywall to bring the house to code. We ended up adding drywall to just the walk-in pantry to squeak by the requirements.

What are some of the functional storage solutions you chose?

Since there was limited wall space around the oven, I added a pull-out spice rack and spice drawer insert to add more storage space.

We also used an integrated pull-out trash can for functionality and added a strip of outlets under the lip of the counter

Why did you choose Medallion for this project?

Loyalty! With Medallion’s offerings for wood hoods, built-in hutch capabilities, and wood tops for the desks in the office, we knew we couldn’t go wrong! I also love all the paint colors and modifications Medallion has. For this project, we went with White Icing and Celeste.

What did you like best about the finished design?

This project blended a masculine, visually textured design with calmer feminine traits to modernize the “cabin” feel. The Potter’s Mill door style is simple and classic, which lets the finishes shine. I love the blue hutches in the dining room with their glass doors!

Any advice for kitchen designers who are just getting started?

Stick to the basics till you know your stuff!

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Nana Wall Glass Window Walls

Nana Wall Glass Window Walls are a great way to experience more indoor/outdoor living in our PNW mild climate. Mix that with a new dark dramatic paint scheme and transform the entire appearance of your home. Check out how close the 3-D concept rendering looks to the final product!

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New This Week: 8 Kitchens With Gorgeous Green Cabinets

The color green is often associated with nature, and therefore rejuvenation. And since a fresh start is something many homeowners are hoping for, perhaps it’s not surprising that this color is showing up in many new kitchens on Houzz. Here, eight kitchens show how gorgeous green — whether dark and moody or light and refreshing — can give a space a feeling of renewal.

1. Forest Fandom

Designer: Nicholas Vanderhovel of Kitchen NV
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Size: 180 square feet (17 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. “The client had recently purchased the home in downtown Ann Arbor and wanted to renovate it to move into it,” designer Nicholas Vanderhovel says. “The kitchen was extremely outdated and had a window in a terrible location that broke the space apart in very odd ways that made it unusable to a certain degree. Everyone who had drawn spaces for the homeowners worked around that window and kept drawing similar layouts to what they already had. I knew the window had to go.”

Green cabinets. Boreal Forest by Benjamin Moore. “I would love to tell a story about how we reached the decision to choose a green, but it was as simple as that’s the first thing they told me they wanted, which was on my bucket list of kitchen design colors I wanted to try,” Vanderhovel says. “My clients brought me a photo of a green kitchen they saw on Houzz, which took us down the green rabbit hole and helped us get to this beautiful kitchen. The best part about this kitchen is that everything in Ann Arbor is blue and maize, to support the University of Michigan. Green and white are the colors of their largest rival, Michigan State University, where one of these clients hails from. She is still supporting her school proudly even though she is behind enemy lines.”

Other special features. Refinished oak flooring. Original exposed-brick wall and wood ceiling joists. Champagne-gold finishes, including a toe kick on the back of the island. Marble-look quartz countertops with a waterfall edge and quartz slab backsplash.

Designer tip. “If you have a client who wants to have fun, run wild,” Vanderhovel says. “I was very lucky with these clients, as they were young and interested in having a bold space. There were few things that I brought up to them that didn’t make their way into the final product, but overall they let me incorporate a ton of fun and on-trend elements that ranged far outside the classic white kitchen we see so much of.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “Since it is a historic home, we couldn’t actually remove the window,” Vanderhovel says. “The window faces a small alley between this home and another, so I recommended taking an antique mirror and facing it out so if anyone was to look in, they couldn’t see anything. Then we blocked off access to the window. So we solved the largest dilemma in the kitchen without confronting the uphill battle of removing a window in a historic home.”

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2. Leafy Looks

Designer: Ruthie Staalsen
Location: Aledo, Texas
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. “My clients lived in England and purchased this home virtually with their Realtor for their family of five,” says designer Ruthie Staalsen, whose clients found her on Houzz. “They needed a designer to assist them with their kitchen remodel virtually and handle the design, coordination and details for them until they returned right before Christmas. The kitchen was tight and dated, and was not open to the family room. They wanted it to have a bit of a farmhouse feel with an English cottage touch. I knew that the kitchen could be opened up and reworked to allow an extra-large island, open shelving, beams and gorgeous tilework.”

Green cabinets. Kale Green by Sherwin-Williams. “I suggested to the client that we paint the lower cabinets green because I felt like it would give the kitchen a warmer, more inviting feel,” Staalsen says. “Because everything else we went with was in the white or cream family, I knew a strong, bold color would bring life into the kitchen. When I think of England, I think of lush green fields and beautiful green pastures.”

Upper cabinet paint: Alabaster, Sherwin-Williams

Other special features. Picket tile backsplash that runs to the ceiling. Walnut shelving on pipe mounting.

Designer tip. “Reuse some of the features that are already there if you can,” Staalsen says. “We took the upper French door cabinets in the bar area and moved them to the main part of the kitchen. This added interest, glass doors and perfect lighting to make the kitchen feel collected.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “We were running on a tight timeline with the client coming home right before Christmas, and all during a pandemic,” Staalsen says. “The client was anxious to get back to America before they shut down England again. We had to work around the clock to make sure we got all the details done in time for them to return. Some of the guys worked through the night just to finish up.”

3. Pale Pop

Designers: Mark Peterson of MA Peterson Designbuild and interior designer Bridget Chirigos
Location: Plymouth, Minnesota
Size: 275 square feet (26 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. Open up a small and confined kitchen to an adjacent family room while maintaining a feeling of separate style and function.

Green cabinets. Softened Green by Sherwin-Williams. “For this retired food scientist, she requested anything but a sterile white kitchen like what she worked in for years,” designer Bridget Chirigos says.

“When I met her, she was wearing spring colors, and she had her treasured artwork of flowers throughout the adjacent rooms. Immediately this project was called ‘Spring Kitchen.’ When I saw the beautiful open-concept design from Mark Peterson of MA Peterson Designbuild, we knew we needed to have the kitchen, living room and dining areas color-cohesive. Sherwin-Williams’ Softened Green is the perfect tone to bring cheer in a Minnesota winter, yet it’s sophisticated for entertaining. To complete the ‘spring floral garden’ of colors, we paired it with cream, raspberry-pink, turquoise and the coolness of a Calacatta marble backsplash, then grounded the entire garden of colors with the warm wood of the island.”

Other special features. Marble-look quartz countertops in Calacatta Gold, from Silestone. Thirty-inch table and seating area at the island.

Island pendants: Kiki in aged brass and cream, Mitzi by Hudson Valley Lighting

4. Daringly Deep

Designer: Selena Fitch of Fitch Design
Location: Mukilteo, Washington
Size: 175 square feet (16 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. “The original cabinets were cheap and falling apart, and the style of them was not consistent with the lovely vintage Art Deco art, sculptures and antiques the client had bringing character to the home,” designer Selena Fitch says.

Green cabinets. Deep green with blue and gray undertones (Eucalyptus finish from Medallion Cabinetry). “While the client had asked for dark gray cabinets when we first met, when I began designing the new kitchen, I felt like the gray was bland and ordinary for the vintage classic style she had,” Fitch says. “Green came to mind because it would be complementary to the reddish tones in the fir doors and floors that were not being replaced or affected.”

Other special features. Glazed white ceramic hexagonal backsplash tile. Marble-look quartz countertops. Apron-front sink. Matte black hardware and faucet. “The client was pretty minimalist in the kitchen and didn’t need the use of all the cabinets available for kitchen storage,” Fitch says. “She wanted to be able to showcase her Rookwood Pottery collection, which was made in America in the 1880s, so we added clear glass doors on the top cabinets and put puck lights in them.”

5. Minty Mood

Designer: Angeline Guido Design
General contractor: Brandon Spruill of Spruill Remodel
Location: Forney, Texas
Size: 320 square feet (30 square meters); 16 by 20 feet

Homeowners’ request. “The kitchen was previously enclosed by a staircase, making it feel small and separating it from the main living area,” contractor Brandon Spruill says. “The homeowners wanted an open concept for entertaining, so we removed the staircase and replaced it with a second island.”

Green cabinets. A light, minty green (Clary Sage by Sherwin-Williams).

Other special features. White oak range hood. Dark gray island base (Iron Ore by Sherwin-Williams).

“Uh-oh” moment. “We talked the homeowners into removing the staircase that separated the kitchen and main living room, because there was another staircase just around the corner that worked well as the only upstairs access,” Spruill says. “Once we removed the staircase, we were ready to install a load-bearing beam for support. We soon found out that the space was too wide for the beam to support without sagging. After studying our design, we decided to add two steel posts on each side of what was supposed to be floating metal shelving, which added enough support to give us what we needed for the beam. Looking at the second island, it looks as if the posts sit on top of the countertop, but we actually set the posts all the way to the ground first and built the island around them, as well as had the countertop custom-cut to fit.”

6. Smoky Style

Designer: Tiffany Waugh
Builder: Schrobsdorff Construction
Location: San Francisco
Size: 120 square feet (11 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. Increase storage while keeping the footprint and preserving the 1899 Victorian home’s characteristics. “We also needed to create a kitchen suitable for contemporary living, including accessibility and ease of use for the family’s two young children,” designer Tiffany Waugh says.

Green cabinets. A smoky green (Green Smoke by Farrow & Ball). “The homeowners’ mandate was that we preserve the historical integrity of the home,” Waugh says. “A smoky green color was popular in interiors in the late 19th century, so this refreshes and fits a historical palette while complementing the adjacent room’s moody gray walls.”

Other special features. Breccia Capria marble countertops and slab backsplash. Paneled appliances. Brass faucet, pendant and cabinet hardware. Custom leaded glass cabinets that match originals in built-ins in an adjacent room.

Designer tip. “We spent hours templating the marble at the fabricator to ensure the most beautiful veining was on full display,” Waugh says. “This was after the ‘uh-oh’ moment below.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “One of the original slabs of marble purchased broke in half while in transport from the stone yard to the fabricator,” Waugh says. “Luckily we had a runner-up choice that was still on hand at another stone yard that we were able to quickly transport to the fabricator. Happy accident, as the second stone turned out to be even more stunning than the first option.”

7. Pewter Punch

Designer: Ashley Martin Home
Location: Winter Park, Florida
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. A large island and openness to the adjacent living spaces.

Green cabinets. Green-blue-gray (Pewter Green by Sherwin-Williams). “I love this shade of green,” designer Ashley Martin says. “It’s a great combination of green and blue, and we married it with white oak on the kitchen island.”

Other special features. Calacatta Boheme quartzite countertops and slab backsplash. Matte black faucet, cabinet hardware and wall sconces. Vintage runner rug.

“Uh-oh” moment. “The kitchen was the largest undertaking in terms of renovation,” Martin says. “We wanted to give the home a more open layout, so we decided to take down the wall separating the kitchen and family room. This turned out to be quite the challenge, as we soon discovered the wall was load-bearing. However, with all said and done, I could not be happier with the way things turned out.”

8. Enticing Evergreen

Designer: Kathryn Chaplow
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Size: 400 square feet (37 square meters)

Homeowners’ request. This is a kitchen for entertaining in a family movie-watching space. It has countertop space, a sink, a refrigerator and cabinet storage, but not a range or cooktop. (The main kitchen is located in another area of the home.) “The homeowner loves color and unexpected elements,” designer Kathryn Chaplow says. “They wanted a space that would support gathering around the center island, incorporate as many windows as possible and utilize warm, informal materials for a sense of comfort and ease.”

Green cabinets. A custom green inspired by evergreen trees surrounding the home. “It is a favorite of the homeowner, who loves a classic palette with rich stained wood, rich green and layers of happy colors like red and blue,” Chaplow says. “The collection of vintage leather-bound National Geographics [seen in the next photo] are red leather and set the green off perfectly.”

Other special features. “The wood on the island base is reclaimed from a horse barn that was original to the property where the house was built,” Chaplow says. “The refrigerator is tucked into the wall in such a way that it feels unlike an appliance element and more like a simple pantry or storage cupboard. The recessed cabinet below the sink replaces a traditional toe-kick detail and implies the look of furniture. Eliminating upper cabinets allowed for full window walls, filling the space with light and a beautiful natural view.”

“Uh-oh” moment. “After laying out the space, we realized that we would be left with some extra space alongside the built-in refrigerator,” Chaplow says. “We wanted to preserve the symmetry of the space with the windows over the sink, so we designed a clever floor-to-ceiling bookcase in the gap. The case is perfect for … the vintage National Geographics. It is one of our favorite moments in that part of the house.”

Custom cabinetry: Ascent Fine Cabinetry; builder: White Birch Builders