Catalina Wine Mixer

Wanting a space to entertain, the homeowners needed to transform their 1990s-era home. Instead of generic finishes and a closed-off layout, they envisioned a memorable kitchen and hearth room—both with a touch of glam. To achieve their desired kitchen size and layout, the design-build team created a small addition using some of the deck and eat-in kitchen space. This allowed the team to square the kitchen off and double the usable space. The new layout allows this kitchen to boast an eight-foot quartzite hood surround, two steel-framed display cabinets, a large island with two-sided storage, a new window over the sink, custom cabinetry, an eight-burner stove and integrated appliances. The true star of the project, however, is a former media cabinet reimagined as a custom wine storage space.

Several design details required forward thinking and careful execution; the layering of pieces took a lot of planning and coordination between subcontractors to ensure execution met design intent. For instance, the countertop had to be installed before the tile, and then the tile needed to be in place before the metal cabinets because the tile would be visible from the back side of the cabinets. The metal cabinets were designed without scribe molding but with integrated lighting, so their installation was intense and precise. The marble backsplash and shelf were installed last to ensure the joints were tight against each cabinet and tile connection. During the final step, the eight-foot quartzite-slab hood surround required meticulous framing and installation strategies to accomplish the seamless panel with mitered edging. This long and arduous process turned out to be highly rewarding for the homeowner.