Kitchen Design Solutions

built to last
A designer and builder cook up a custom space that gets better with use.

Ask designer, artist and chef Shirley (SK) Sartell how to plan an efficient and affordable kitchen, and she can literally teach you how to build it from the ground up. This kitchen is part of a whole home she and her husband Ron took four years to design and another two to build. To keep the kitchen budget in check, Shirley devised a floor plan down to the square inch, then set about fleshing out her plan.

      When an estimate for custom cabinetry came in at
$35,000,     the two got to work to see if they could make
their own for less. Using 1-inch-thick plywood, Ron
constructed the boxes (They're strong enough to dance
in," Shirley says), and Shirley covered them with pine bead board and pine, then painted and antiqued the finish. The most expensive part came in the antique-looking seeded glass panels for the upper cabinets-a grand total of $400!

One of Shirley's biggest wishes was for a copper farmhouse sink, but, at $3,500, she felt she would be a slave to it, polishing and worrying about anything that marked it, so she compromised with a poured-concrete version (it weighs up to 500 pounds) that she antiqued with a copper finish. In keeping with the indestructible surface idea she poured her own concrete counters and used hammered copper sheeting for the island surface, that way the dings are built-in and there's loads of character to boot! Tongue and groove pine flooring and table can also take a beating. They're unfinished and will wear into old barn-like planks, complete with the nicks and dents inevitable in a busy kitchen.

Knowing that a kitchen needs to be designed for the person who uses it, Shirley included a special granite-topped counter area for her bread making and other baking, lowered to accommodate her petite frame. To make the most of the square footage she also built in a pantry that houses a front-loading washer and dryer.

National Magazine Reviews built to last A designer and builder cook up a custom space that gets better with use. Ask designer, artist and chef Shirley (SK) Sartell how to plan an efficient and affordable kitchen, and she can literally teach you how to build it from the ground up. This kitchen is part of a whole home she and her husband Ron took four years to design and another two to build. To keep the kitchen budget in check, Shirley devised a floor plan down to the square inch, then set about fleshing out her plan. When an estimate for custom cabinetry came in at $35,000, the two got to work to see if they could make their own for less. Using 1-inch-thick plywood, Ron constructed the boxes (They're strong enough to dance in," Shirley says), and Shirley covered them with pine bead board and pine, then painted and antiqued the finish. The most expensive part came in the antique-looking seeded glass panels for the upper cabinets-a grand total of $400! One of Shirley's biggest wishes was for a copper farmhouse sink, but, at $3,500, she felt she would be a slave to it, polishing and worrying about anything that marked it, so she compromised with a poured-concrete version (it weighs up to 500 pounds) that she antiqued with a copper finish. In keeping with the indestructible surface idea she poured her own concrete counters and used hammered copper sheeting for the island surface, that way the dings are built-in and there's loads of character to boot! Tongue and groove pine flooring and table can also take a beating. They're unfinished and will wear into old barn-like planks, complete with the nicks and dents inevitable in a busy kitchen. Knowing that a kitchen needs to be designed for the person who uses it, Shirley included a special granite-topped counter area for her bread making and other baking, lowered to accommodate her petite frame. To make the most of the square footage she also built in a pantry that houses a front-loading washer and dryer.