It’s not often that a Sarasota kitchen designer is fortunate enough to work on a project that’s almost completely designed before he meets the client. But when EuroTech Kitchen Designer, Jim Judsen, met Interior Designer, Ellen Levine, he was fortunate indeed! Ellen gave Jim her sketches of how she envisioned the Sarasota kitchen and Jim took it from there. Jim and his design team were able to take Ellen’s design concepts and translate them into plans and elevations, complete with the technical and engineering details necessary for fabrication and installation.
Last October, Ellen found a 70’s condo that “took her breath away.” It wasn’t the shag carpet, avocado green refrigerator, or the foil wallpaper. It was the window, the views of Gulf and Bay, and the vision she had of how the condo could look with walls knocked out and the skeleton exposed.
In order to direct the eyes immediately to the views, the Sarasota kitchen design was kept very sleek and minimalistic. Exposing the concrete columns and ceilings (duct work, conduit and all) are a dramatic counterpoint to the hi-gloss laminate surfaces in the kitchen. The hi-gloss “sycamore” laminate is a beautiful contrast to the exposed metal ducting and grey concrete ceilings. The aqua glass in the upper cabinets and the island cabinetry add visual appeal. Relating to the sand, sea, and nature, Ellen chose sand colors, aqua blues and neutrals. For interest and relief, a bit of red was added (look at Ellen’s bar stools and very cool lights at the island).
The Sarasota kitchen cabinetry needed to feel more like furniture, now that it was exposed to the living area. The stainless steel legs allow the island to float off the floor, appearing lighter and more graceful. Because there are no upper cabinets at the island, we placed dish racks in the large island drawers. The island also houses the Gaggenau down-draft grill and cooktop.
We were able to facilitate Ellen’s desire to “continue the same cabinets into the rest of the space.” A once very dreary and long tunnellike hallway has now become an angled laminate wall panel system that hides the door to the powder room and a door to the hall closet.
Ellen told us that she was “thrilled with the quality of cabinetry that EuroTech provided. Jim Judsen managed and monitored the progress while I was at a distance. I now have an incredible ‘Eurostyle’ Sarasota kitchen in my Loft on the Gulf.”
