Home Magazine
The integration of cabinets into family, living, dining and recreation rooms has spurred the company Kitchen Concepts to create a more appropriately named spinoff firm: RoomScapes. Norwell designer Cameron Snyder of Kitchen Concepts says RoomScapes specializes in creating versatile, multifunctional cabinets that appear to be furniture but have the permanence, adaptability and ease found in cabinetry. Snyder has done his share of installing and
designing traditional structure-conforming wall units --“fitted” cabinets -- for
the last three decades. The former head of the National Kitchen and Bath Association,
Snyder speaks and writes regularly on design, and has been featured in magazines such as
Country Home, Builder & Architect and Remodeling News. His sophisticated clients are now asking for cabinets that look like a Queen Anne wardrobe, Grandma’s jelly cupboard and almost any other piece you can dream up. Snyder finds these looks especially appropriate for New England. “Many houses are older and more traditional in style. The cabinetry and space can reflect the time period of the house -- rather than look like a modern kitchen.” A kitchen and family room created for a Duxbury family has cabinetry extending from the kitchen into the adjoining living area. Cherry kitchen cabinets along the back wall are accented with evergreen trim topped with black glaze; cabinets forming an island have carved accents. Flanking the brick fireplace, an adjoining media center features matching cabinetry with open bookshelves as well as cupboards for speakers and a television. As cabinetry has made its way from the
kitchen, it has evolved technically as well as stylistically. “You need to understand
cabinetry and joinery,” Snyder said. “Mechanical considerations are different,
for example, for constructing a home library. You’re dealing with other components. A
stereo integrated within cabinetry takes a little more research, a little more
thought.” For a recent project, a client’s large-screen TV was stored behind
bi-fold cabinet doors designed to retract; a hydraulic lift inside lifted the unit up and
down. Snyder also enjoys the challenge of creating
cabinetry that looks like free-standing pieces instead of built-ins. One of his favorite
projects was the kitchen of a historic home in Milton. His client had several antiques she
wanted incorporated into the design. Working around these pieces, Snyder ensconced a slate
farmer’s sink in cherry cabinetry and constructed an island of maple, painted red,
and then black, and carefully sanded to bring out red highlights. A Sub-Zero refrigerator
was given a facade of unfinished maple and made to look like an old chest. The result? The
kitchen appears to be a collection of furniture rather than a set of appliances. For a Cohasset kitchen and dining room, Snyder integrated existing architectural elements with cabinetry. He opened up a section of the wall between two cupboards to allow a unobstructed view of the dining room and the ocean beyond. The opening was flanked by columns and an overhead arch with hand-carved inlays. Two refrigerator drawers were camouflaged by fluted side panels and buffet-style cabinetry with legs. In the dining room the same cabinetry was
painted off-white, given a chocolate glaze, then sanded for a worn look. The piece
resembles a hutch, giving a formal feel to the room. Snyder thinks the variety of woods
and finishes used in cabinetry will continue to expand. “We’re using more light woods, more exotic woods, more glazed finishes. Cabinets with white glazing, black glazing and chocolate glazing give a more antique look. It’s almost like you don’t want your kitchen to look new.” It’s often the finishing touches that add a personalized look, like a kitchen island topped with hammered zinc to give it a weathered appearance. Or a single section of cabinetry done in antique pine. “This says, 'This is a piece of furniture that means something to me,'” said Snyder. And if the one drawback to cabinetry is that you can’t take it with you, Snyder says he has designed cabinet pieces that can be moved.
Kitchen Concepts, Inc. retains the right to all images and contents of this site. © 2005. All rights reserved. Web site by notcom.net.
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Cabinets are getting a new face. No longer bland wooden doors marching across
kitchen walls, today’s cabinets imitate the look of fine furniture and have a niche
in every room of the house.
