kitchen conversations

The vision of seeing daylight and a window when standing at her kitchen sink seemed to only be possible in her dreams. Maha craved an open and airy feeling, where she could feel good during her recovery from a recent illness.

With the cramped and very anti user-friendly layout of her kitchen, a simple update of the look seemed to be the only option in her mind. Being in a condo did not leave any options of enlarging the kitchen space, so the designer had to come up with a creative solution in order to transform the space into the sanctuary she so longed for. The first challenge was the width of the kitchen, which was a U-shape layout. By the time the major appliances were placed, not much countertop space remained, nor was there enough storage space. Getting into the corner cabinets was a chore each time and the space lacked design, character and beauty. With her new healthy lifestyle, a water purification system was a must as was organized space with the spice drawers below her wall cabinets for her herbal supplements that she needed to access multiple times each day. The luxury to have instant hot and filtered water at her finger tips to encourage her to drink herbal teas instead of coffee all-day-long was an important detail that became a necessity.

It was like a breath of fresh air – without opening up the windows – when the full wall between her kitchen and her living space with all the natural light was taken down. Abundant storage space was obtained by building 2 towers of glass fronted cabinets and bridging them with glass fronted cabinets above her sink. With more storage than she had before and the ability to create a truly beautiful look, all feelings of being smothered in her old kitchen simply vanished.

Lighting inside her glass cabinets and underneath the cabinets, added the ambiance that makes her guests always want to stay and linger just a little longer – even Maha wants to spend as much time in her favorite part of her home – she simply made herself comfortable at the end of the peninsula, where a little overhang of the granite allows for enough space to place a stool and her laptop. Now work hardly feels like work at all, as she is surrounded by elements that make her feel welcome and happy.

When sitting in the living room, it seems as if the house became larger, since the full wall no longer blocked the view to the kitchen. Now even the guests in the kitchen can socialize with everyone on the other side of the peninsula and magically everyone pitches in doing the dishes, as they are not missing a word of the conversations taking place on the other side.

In selecting her products, she was drawn to products that would emit a sense of earth, organics and serenity. Unknowingly during her and her designer’s search for the materials that “felt” right to her, each item they selected was connected to the earth’s elements by their names. Her cabinetry was Cherry Autumn, her granite was called Golden Oak, her sink was made from Quartz – even her glass backsplash tile was called Earth and her glass pattern for her cabinets is named Seedy. The tile floor was from Mother Nature direct – Travertine Stone French Pattern in Ivory with chiseled edges – to complete the tranquility she envisioned.

When everything was in place, one could feel the harmony between all the elements that were perfectly in sync with one another – and so was Maha.

Her recovery was much faster than the doctors had predicted and she smiles each time she sees her curtains blow in the wind in front of the window that she now admires while standing in front of her sink.

When kitchen designers Matt and Sonja Sbitani from MJA Design saw the emotional look in Maha’s eyes, they knew that more than a successful remodel was at work here.  To see photos of the kitchen before the remodel and to view more of the after, follow this link http://www.mjadesignonline.com/before-and-after.swf