Ingenious design by bright designlab makes small kitchen spacious and functional.
We’re fortunate here at Hammer and Hand to work with Portland’s most talented designers and architects on our remodel and new construction projects.
This week our regular designer-collaborators at bright designlab posted photos of a cool joint project: bright partner Alissa Pulcrano’s modern kitchen remodel. See the gallery of photos here on our site.
Designed by Alissa, built by Hammer and Hand, and photographed by bright’s Leela Brightenburg, the kitchen is a model of how modern design principles can transform a compact room into an airy, sleek and functional space.
I stole a few minutes of Aaron Steven’s time today here at Hammer and Hand to get his insights about the design. Aaron, our Operations Manager, was project manager for this kitchen remodel.
“The story of this project was about taking a small space and filling it in as a functional, modern kitchen,” he said, “but keeping a clean, spacious feeling.”
Three key design elements helped make this happen:
1. Avoiding the Range Hood
It required a City variance to do this, but Alissa substituted the typical view-obstructing range hood for an exhaust fan mounted in the wall. “It’s finished with a totally cool retro fan cover,” Aaron said.
2. Sliding Doors for the Cabinets
Simple in concept, but not easy to achieve in a way that retains the classic look of cabinet doors that pull. The advantage of sliding doors? No doors swinging out, taking up precious space.
3. Dishdrawer Dishwasher
Patterned from filing cabinet design, this small appliance saved lots of storage space for the kitchen.
Aaron was also impressed by the light touch that Alissa brought to her application of materials normally considered “heavy”.
“The walnut used through is hefty, but it’s raised up off the ground on stainless steel supports, so it feels like it’s floating,” he said. “Same thing with the marble counter tops. Marble is a heavier material, but at the thinner 2cm thickness rather than 3cm, these counter tops have a real elegance to them.”
So how did the kitchen remodeling project turn out? Aaron sums it up nicely: “It’s slick, it’s clever, it’s cool and it’s totally functional. It doesn’t just look good, it really works.”
(For more about Hammer & Hand’s services, visit our kitchen remodeling page.)
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