::FEATURE ARTICLES::

Way-cool Kitchens

By Laura Sanchez

So, what happens if an interior designer and a homeowner actually achieve the elusive goal of perfect communication? When interior designer Pam Reardon got together with herself to plan her own kitchen remodel, the result was a great-looking space that works for the entire family.

Chuck and Pam Reardon bought their North Valley home almost six years ago. They loved the house’s layout except for the kitchen, which just didn’t work for the couple and their sons, now 11 and 13.

Pam used her design experience to define what they wanted in the new kitchen and how to get it. The number one priority was an open, flowing space where the family could gather while each pursued different activities. “Before,” Pam says, “I was constantly leaving the kitchen to answer the boys’ homework questions.” And, along with new appliances and cabinets, Pam wanted more daylight in the kitchen and more room for indoor entertaining.

Because the existing kitchen sat in the center of the house, isolated from sunshine, tearing out two kitchen walls was the key solution. A new skylight and white cabinets from J. Wheeler Ltd. & The Branch Cabinetry further boosted light levels in the kitchen. Guests now flow easily through the dining and buffet serving areas in the newly opened space to the south.

Experience also helped Pam define what she didn’t want—a style so trendy it might become passé as quickly as it had become fashionable. Her own taste veered toward a French-flavored classicism, but she deliberately toned down any “fluff” because she “lives with a bunch of men” and wanted them to feel comfortable cooking.

Pam chose contractor Jeff Speck of Jade Enterprises, whose impeccable work was familiar from her clients’ projects. When remodeling began in the spring, the Reardons rigged a temporary outdoor kitchen. “We moved the refrigerator onto the back patio,” Pam says. “The workmen cut sections of countertop to use as work surfaces. We were up and running the whole time.” The job lasted into the fall and “the workmen began to feel like family. We went through September 11 together.”

Judy Smith of Branch Cabinetry suggested leaving base cabinets open under the cooktop, buffet, and island. Baskets under the island hold the kids’ project supplies, and Pam stores cookware under the cooktop where it’s easy to see and reach.

Any post-remodeling second-thoughts? The microwave might have been handier on a counter instead of under the island surface, but the boys are the appliance’s major users and they don’t mind. The window seat seemed a little frivolous, but it’s been a joy. It gives a clear view of the backyard pool, and Chuck likes to sit there and read.
Of course, there are always use patterns no one can anticipate: One of the boys sits on top of the island to eat breakfast.

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Photo © Robert Reck

The kitchen in interior designer Pam Reardon’s house now flows into a family dining area that was once a separate room. Removing walls and extending the cabinets from J. Wheeler Ltd. & The Branch Cabinetry ties together the space, as do the flowing saltillo tiles, while the exposed roof beams and plank decking above only the eating area give that space its own identity.