Boulder – When Jo-Ann and Greg Beserra moved into their custom home in 1990, design trends leaned toward loft-like floor plans, rounded walls and step-up, step-down transitions between “rooms” in the sweeping spaces. Laminate kitchen cabinets cost more than solid cherry ones, and black-and-white kitchens were big, so that’s what they chose.
Over the years, the Beserras updated other areas in their home. Eventually, that meant looking at their kitchen too. “We wanted to do it right and waited until we could,” she says. That meant squirreling away nearly $45,000 for the kitchen remodel completed in late 2004.
The contemporary kitchen and eight others in Boulder are part of the Kitchens on Fire tour to be held Friday and Saturday. (For details, see the box at end of this story.)
The Beserra family, which now includes Heather, 14, and Amber, 12, cooks and eats in a lot, but Jo-Ann says that means half-hour, not three- hour meal prep.
The redesign goals included updating appliances (nearly half of the budget went toward new ones), enlarging the island and infusing color into the old two-tone kitchen. The project was part function, part style.
“We enjoy contemporary, clean lines,” she says. “We definitely wanted to put some color in the kitchen and to have it blend in with the rest of the house better.”
Beserra is a bit of a do-it-yourselfer, but she believed a kitchen overhaul exceeded her skills, even though the white, laminate cabinets, floor plan and hardwood floors would stay. So, she worked with Diane Ebeling, co- owner of Studio3, a Boulder-based kitchen and bath design firm.
“When I first walked into her house, I saw that she had lots of color and fun, whimsical art, so I wanted to do something fun and arty in the kitchen,” Ebeling says.
Because the cabinets stayed, Beserra and Ebeling could not supersize the appliances. Instead, they selected stainless steel items that have the popular industrial look without the industrial size. By removing one upper cabinet, however, they squeezed in a taller Sub-Zero refrigerator. They went with a two-drawer Fisher & Paykel dishwasher. Other selections include a microwave/convection oven set in a lower cabinet space. They also lowered the built-in oven and installed a Miele espresso machine where the microwave used to be.
Against the backdrop of white and steel, the rest of the new look came from concrete countertops – a grayish green on the perimeter and black for the island – and colorful glass wall tiles. Beserra also approved a diamond-shaped sink with channeled drain board.
The sink “was probably the riskiest thing,” she says, “because it was something we couldn’t change easily.”
The corner-set sink in strikingly smooth concrete is offset by glass wall tiles with painted backs. Razor-thin stainless steel shelves extend from the tiled wall, displaying art glass and a two-chute bamboo vase.
By sliding the peninsula slightly away, Ebeling could make the island bigger. Now, the family has three options for eating. They can dine at the island, a nearby table nook or a dining area they have carved out from another living room space since Beserra, who plays in an orchestra, uses the dining room as her music space.
Color and smooth textures keep the kitchen from feeling cold. New task lighting and cable lighting brighten the dark counters and tile areas, some of which extend to the ceiling.
Ebeling got into kitchen design 23 years ago, an era in which raised-
panel oak cabinets and laminate countertops were typical. She admits that the stainless look is just that, a look that may recede in time, maybe a decade or more.
Oak, she adds with a hint of surprise, is making its own comeback with stylish new doors and finishes. “It’s a lot like the fashion industry,” she explains. “Looks come full circle.”
Kitchens on Fire
A tour of nine Boulder kitchens
When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Tickets: $15, are available online at www.thedairy.org, at The Dairy Center for the Arts (2590 Walnut St.), at Studio3 (741 Pearl St.) or participating homes.
Information: 303-440-7826 or www.thedairy.org.
