Depression era glassware sitting eloquently atop modern white cabinets and pendant lighting adorning modern drums with traditional crystals are some of the remodeling ideas put in place that gracefully blend past with present in the kitchen design of Pickerington couple Michele and Scott Snedegar. “I’m a lover of antiques and tradition, but still love the modern look of today,” says Michele. “I wanted to blend all three of them in a design that would stand the test of time.”
Shifting from a kitchen dominated by dark stained cabinetry and solid doors, Michele desired a new kitchen with a bright and open feel that allowed her to fully express her love of both old and modern styles. With this clear vision, Michele set out to find one contractor to deliver the entire job, beginning to end from design to completed space, instead of working with multiple parties. After months of searching, she found Scott Carskadon of Eagle Specialty Remodeling who would do just that.
Starting with the most prominent element of the new kitchen, the cabinetry, Carskadon initially presented a sketch showing varying heights of cabinets in the design. However, Michele desired a straight, linear look for the cabinetry instead. She also wanted them to somehow house her antique glassware in a distinctive way. “I love my antiques, and I wanted to showcase them. They are a piece of the past I don’t want to forget,” says Michele. So working together, Carskadon and the homeowner created a stacked cabinet design that includes lighted display cases across the top with glass doors that artfully showcase her antique glass pieces as well as protect them from kitchen dust and grime. In their new dedicated space, Michele comments of her glassware, “They are no longer all cluttered, and it’s nice they don’t have to be cleaned as much.”
For the cabinetry color, Michele chose glacier white to gain the brightness she desired then added a silver-gray glaze to achieve an aged look. “She was clear on what she wanted,” reflects Carskadon. “She stepped out on a limb with the glacier white on maple cabinets with the mixed glaze, and it turned out looking great.” Another special feature of the new cabinets are pull out drawers under the counters that are disguised to look like cabinet doors. Michele says, “Even if it looks like a door, it’s a drawer.” This design feature allows the same linear look to be maintained on the cabinetry all around the kitchen.
For the countertops, Carskadon spotted the perfect slab of granite at Distinctive Marble and Granite. Called Scottish Meadow, this granite’s white and black speckle ties elegantly with the cabinetry color and the black island.
Michele fell in love with tiles she saw at The Hamilton Parker Company for placement behind her new Thermador stove. “I saw the tiles and knew they would give me a little vintage, pewter and modern look.”
Adding white subway tiles on the remaining backsplash, yellow Venetian plaster on the walls, and modern chandelier style pendant lighting over the sink and island, more elements strategically add to the layers of Michele’s vintage meets modern theme.
A great working relationship between the Snedegars and Carskadon made this project a positive and rewarding experience for both sides. “We worked well together, it was a flexible process and it was easy to make changes along the way,” says Michele. “I see it,” she says of her design vision, “then it’s just a matter of finding it. Scott brought my vision to life, taking what was in my head and making it so I could see it.”
“Michele knew what she wanted, it was just a matter of finding all the pieces and showing them to her,” Carskadon comments. “She stepped outside the norm, and to put this whole kitchen together and have it turn out the way it did was pretty unique.”
With her kitchen vision realized and all the remodeling ideas in place, Michele concludes, “Lots of friends walk in to our new kitchen and say, ‘Wow!’ We are happy with the end result, very much so.”