Almost Complete!

Evelyn Malkus is working on the final touches with her new kitchen and is already putting her ideas to work based on her inspiration from Julia Child's kitchen. When it comes to food and baking, Evelyn wanted a kitchen that makes it easy for her to SEE what she needs with having EASY ACCESS to it.

In addition to function, Evelyn loves the bright and open feeling of her new kitchen. We will debut her completed kitchen soon, but for now, we've included a sneak peak of what function looks like.

Here are some photos Evelyn took to share with us:

Her island is open on the back side so she has quick and easy access to the dishes she uses on a regular basis.

Her drawers are well laid out with items she needs close at hand. Check out the storage she even created for her rolling pins!

Mixing bowls and measuring cups get their own drawer.

She has a pantry close to her work space to hold cooking ingredients she wants readily available.

Julia Child Inspired Kitchen: Jobsite Visit! Looking Good...

The kitchen countertops are installed and the finished carpentry work is in full swing. Designer Carly Miller visited the job site on Monday and snapped some photos of the detailed work. 

This picture shows some of the lil’ corbels under the window sill.  She had them custom made and will be putting a rod through them to use as hanging space.

The hood is in, but still covered with plastic to protect it, but the finish is stainless steel.

 This pictures shows the corbels up close to get a good look at the detail work.

You will see that the Kohler apron sink is in the island …also that the tops are on, but covered with cardboard to prevent scratches. To the far right, you can see that there is no door on the cabinet to hide the rollout trays. This is a trait from Julia Child's kitchen that Evelyn wanted to mimic. It gives better access to the items she needs during cooking.

The “pantry” cabinet will have the microwave to the left, on a shelf, and the refrigerator to the right, free standing.

Evelyn is in the process of finding the right tile for the backsplash – looking to do 4 x 4’s in a mix of two different whites, and a light gray – but she’s having trouble finding the right colors.  So we’ll be exploring Daltile for their options.

Stay tuned......

Julia Child Inspired Kitchen: Next Step: Countertops!

Once the cabinetry is installed the next step is getting the countertops measured and installed. Evelyn took this video of the installers lifting the HEAVY piece of granite onto the cabinets and shifting it into place. It so exciting to see all the elements come together!

Cabinet Installation Has Started

Update to our “Julia Child” inspired kitchen:  The cabinet installation has started in Evelyn’s kitchen. She is excited to see her vision come together! Stay tuned . . .

A Julie Child Inspired Kitchen

One of the joys of doing custom work is our ability to take on creative projects!  Our newest one?  How about a “Julia Child” inspired kitchen?  Evelyn Malkus has a vision influenced by Julia Child where it’s all about function for the cook.  We are excited to share this home owners journey and we will be updating you as we go. 

 Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian

 Concept plan for Evelyn's kitchen.

But my friend's "friend" referred him!

Have you ever gotten excited when a friend of a friend of a friend offers you their "expert" plumbing skills at a reduced cost? Who can pass up a "skilled" tradesman at half the cost? And besides, he's a friend right?

So you verbally agree on the work to be done (put a new pipe here & there, hook up the new sink, and turn on the water), and then a start date and time is given. You just need to give him his up-front payment to cover his expenses. The day finally arrives and you can't wait for the work to begin. The start time has come and gone by a half hour and a little disappointment has settled in. But he's a "friend" so you cut him a little slack. When he finally arrives, he seems a bit unprepared, but gets right to work. An hour or so later it appears he needs to run to the store for more parts. Hours later he returns, but shortly after it's quitten' time and states he will be back tomorrow.

A little more disappointment settles in because not much was completed on day 1 and you don't see the end of construction in sight. Meanwhile, you are using other rooms in the house to prepare meals and wash dishes. But hey, this is a "friend" and friends don't let us down. Several more days pass and you are still waiting for that shiny new sink to be installed, but your "friend" promises to return tomorrow. That verbal agreement didn't outline every aspect of the job and there was no completion date so when he gets to it, it will be done.

Wow- a month later your sink is finally installed, it looks amazing and works great. You have paid your "skilled" tradesman the balance of the reduced -cost payment and he has cleared out of your space. WAIT!!! Where's this water on the floor coming from? Why is this pipe leaking? It was just installed and why is the drywall wet???

What could/should you have done differently?

Don't Leave Your Child Out On The Curb

When attempting to make pita chips to go with supper, you open your too small cabinet, and a bunch of spices come tumbling down. As you are scrambling around to pick them up, you forget about the pita chips in the oven and burn them to the point that the fire alarm is triggered. When the fire alarm goes off, your dog goes crazy and starts racing around the house, barking hysterically. As you try to let your dog out, the dog trips you and you crash into the chair and hit your head. When you go to the freezer to get some ice for your head, the doorbell rings. You answer the door and find some random jogger guy standing there holding your dog telling you your dog was chasing him.
As you apologize profusely and take your dog back in the house, you see the mail truck across the street and you realize you forgot to put an important check in the mail- and it's due TODAY- so you scramble to get your check in the envelope. You open your overstuffed drawer in the kitchen and ransack through it to find a stamp and after 5 minutes of not finding one, you see the mail truck pass your house.
As you realize you now have to make a trip to the post office AND you'll need to swing through the drive-thru to pick up dinner, the phone rings. It's the school. You have forgotten to pick up your child. Because, let's face it- it's time for a new kitchen.
Don't leave your child out on the curb; remodel your kitchen with Bella Domicile.

What's your story?