Kitchen & Bath Business/KBIS January/February 2022 - 47

crete floor. Then the space was insulated and fireproofed.
With these changes, the designer gained
2 feet in the kitchen, which enabled him to install
a larger island and change its orientation to line
up with the cabinets.
CHALLENGE #2: BRINGING IN THE LIGHT
The kitchen is centralized in the home and was
not benefiting from the natural light in the adjacent
living room because the structural walls and
cabinets got in the way. Vanderhovel attacked this
problem with a creative cabinet solution and a new
lighting plan.
" The client didn't want to block off the natural
light coming from the windows in the back of
the house, and I was running out of options for
planning her storage, " he said. " We chose to do
a two-sided, double-glass cabinet that allows the
light to come through with minimal obstruction. "
He replaced old can lights with LED 6-in.
wafer lights, which provide significantly more
illumination, and added undercabinet lighting
and interior lighting to the glass cabinet. Three
pendants with clear glass shades were hung above
the island.
CHALLENGE #3: POST-PROJECT PROBLEMS
Although the project went smoothly, two surprises
arose after completion, and Vanderhovel was
tasked with revisiting surface selections. He had
ordered backsplash tile from an online resource,
which he said he will " never do again. " Although
the client loved it, after a few weeks heat and
moisture from cooking awakened the iron in the
marble, and yellow spots appeared. Vanderhovel had the backsplash ripped
out and replaced with the same tile but with extra sealant. Unfortunately, the
same yellowing recurred, and he had to replace the marble tile with porcelain.
A second surface issue came up when the countertop cracked when the
house shifted, as homes tend to do in Michigan when the seasons change.
The load-bearing archway put pressure on the countertop, which had been
fabricated so perfectly it left no room for movement. In this case, the countertop,
the down-to-counter cabinet, some tile, the sink and the disposal had
to be removed to replace the quartz. Now, when faced with similar situations,
Vanderhovel leaves a slim line of wiggle room between load-bearing walls
and countertops that extend past them.
In many projects, taking the easy way out - removing walls and starting
over - is not an option. Designers must find ingenious ways to work around
limitations and still give their clients the function they need.

SOURCES: DESIGNER & PHOTOGRAPHER: Nicholas Vanderhovel, CMKBD, Kitchen NV; INTERIOR DESIGNER: Michelle Maxey Interior Design
*
BACKSPLASH: Virginia Tile; BAR STOOLS:
Arhaus; COUNTERTOP: Cambria; CABINET PAINT: Benjamin Moore; CABINET HARDWARE: Top Knobs; CABINETS: Kitchen NV Fine Cabinetry; COOKTOP & HOOD: Thermador; DISHWASHER:
Bosch; FAUCET: Moen; FLOORING: Existing; LIGHTING: Visual Comfort; OVENS, REFRIGERATOR & FREEZER: Electrolux
KBBONLINE.COM
47
ABOVE To bring more natural
light from the living room into
this centralized kitchen without
making structural changes
to the separating wall, the
designer incorporated a twosided
glass cabinet.
RIGHT When the backsplash
yellowed twice, the designer
switched it for an intricate
skewed herringbone for
which each piece was individually
set.

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