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Build Your Clever Kitchen

February 19, 2013

10:45 AM

Whether you’re downsizing, upgrading or thinking green, the kitchen remains the focal point of your home. Every year the Lehigh Valley Builders Association reviews some of the area’s best home projects as submitted by area builders and specialty contractors. Among them are always great examples of kitchens we just love.

The Plan: deconstruct and then reconstruct a very special late 19th century property so its exceptional golf course views can be seen from the kitchen.

This was no easy task since the original kitchen had to be relocated entirely. Brader’s accomplished this by removing a load-bearing wall to make a larger, more functional space possible. To compensate for the removal of the wall, a steel beam was added for support and then aesthetics were employed to camouflage the beam in the form of a beautifully coffered wood beamed ceiling.

When adding this many large windows at eye level, you can sacrifice cabinet storage space. To offset this design request, Brader’s added base cabinet adjustable storage drawers with hardware to secure dishware of various sizes.

Another tricky design issue was how to ventilate the cooking area since there was no wall space above it. The answer: installing two, 30-inch downdraft ventilators behind the range top that pop out of the Carrara marble countertop.

Cararra marble was used throughout the kitchen for the countertop and backsplashes, and to accomplish the homeowner’s goal of creating a craftsman-style aesthetic, Brader’s built custom maple cabinets and painted them white, and then added a flush, beaded inset frame design.

The fine finishes came in the form of luscious wide-planked reclaimed hardwood floors of oak and an array of high-end stainless steel appliances fit for the most discerning of chefs.

Brader’s Woodcraft, Inc. | Laurys Station

The Plan: to build an expansive, well-crafted kitchen and dining room using a unique blend of environmentally-friendly materials that fit in a LEED Certified home.

This kitchen is a genuine example of making lemonade out of lemons, as it presented its contractors with two specific problems. The first was the placement of the dining room in the layout—between the kitchen and the family room, and right at the bottom of a staircase. The second problem was the room’s inadequate ceiling space for the proper installation of a vent fan.

Another important consideration for this project; it’s the kitchen of a totally “green” or LEED Certified home known as HoudenHAL, an experimental model home center located in Breinigsville. There is a specific list of criteria builders must adhere to when constructing a LEED Certified home using environmentally friendly materials. Everything seen in this kitchen meets or exceeds that criteria.

To address the first matter, an incredibly creative solution was employed. A curved bamboo banquette was designed to provide ample seating options for a family of four, spatial flow was created, as was a true conversation piece.

Step two, correcting the problem created by what builders call a “glue-lam,” or a layered beam-like structure adhered to the ceiling right where the vent hood needed to be placed. An alteration to the design was made that actually carried the curved theme from the banquette, floors and vent hood itself throughout the room, creating a cleverly curvaceous gathering space with a unified, inviting look.

The warmth of the room emanates from the blend of modern, craftsman and traditional styles employing such elements as a mix of bamboo and cork for the floor and another mixture for the countertop. This one is a blend of concrete and glass creating a surface called Ice Stone. The island and wet bar countertop is made of another recycled material, newspaper. The chocolate Paperstone creates a nice color balance to the bright white of the Ice Stone and provides another practical work surface.

From its natural floors to its Benjamin Moore Natura painted walls and ceiling, this home project no doubt makes visitors certifiably green with envy.


Ruhmel Contracting, Inc. | BreinigsvilleP.J. Stofanak | Bethlehem

The Plan: to add a first floor master bedroom suite with bath and expand a less-than desirable galley kitchen floor plan.

As homeowners grow and change, so too, must their homes to accommodate differing life phases and styles. Such is the case of this two-story home project originally built in 1994. Back then this was a young family just starting out so they chose a typical layout of all bedrooms on the second floor. Fast-forward to 2012, the kids have moved out, and this floor plan no longer works. Fortunately, the homeowners saw the benefit of retaining the home they love and opted to revise the way the home works rather than move on and out of a community they hold dear.

To accomplish this, the entire existing kitchen had to be gutted. All the framing to the adjacent rooms, which included a half-bath and laundry room had to be removed, as well, so the transition into the new master bedroom space did not look “added-on.” The most challenging aspect of this project was having the homeowners exist without a kitchen for 10 weeks. However, the end result was well worth it, with the homeowners gaining five feet in length to the kitchen and a designed-for-convenience 24- by 30-foot master bedroom suite complete with a new laundry area, a spacious walk-in closet and master bath with his and her vanity areas.

Meanwhile, the kitchen received a polished, contemporary upgrade with granite countertops, a creatively tiled ceramic backsplash with accents of smaller stainless steel tiles over the cooktop and state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances.

For this kitchen project, taking the extra step of relocating a window and the sink beneath it proved to be the key to a more functional and streamlined work space that will serve the homeowners’ new needs as they get cooking on the next stage in their lives.

Anthony Builders Inc. | Bethlehem

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