Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2017 - 50

MAKING
BALANCED
BUDGET EVERYTHING
BEST

COUNT

A designer chose smart
options to renovate a kitchen
and keep it cost effective

Separating the two wall ovens adds a sense of balance
to the kitchen and allowed
the installation of the decorative tile insert in between.
Gray cabinets, a reclaimed
wood island countertop, a
hand-molded backsplash tile
and burnished brass light fixtures transformed this kitchen
- all while staying within the
clients' specific budget.

THE PHILOSOPHY AT SIMMER & SOAK in St. Simons Island, Ga., is to provide clients with custom
kitchen and bath design options at price points
that fit every budget and discover creative ways
to save and splurge. When a couple in the area
wanted to renovate their outdated 1970s kitchen,
the husband was adamant about not going over
their $50,000 to $60,000 budget.
"He joked around about that figure a lot, which
made it easy and comfortable to talk about," said
designer Jessica Rogers, who used AutoCAD for
the renovation. "They were both realistic about
making compromises to achieve the overall look
without exceeding their budget."

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

The project's biggest budget saver was keeping the existing soffits over the
wall cabinetry and concealing them with paint and oversized crown molding,
which Rogers says gives the illusion that there is no soffit, just a large decorative top rail on the cabinetry.
"To further sell the illusion, we created faux soffits over deeper tall cabinets,
which continued the sight line of the top rail and eliminated any indication
that a soffit even existed," explained the designer.
Originally, she wanted to install a marble backsplash in the kitchen, but
she saved money by instead choosing a white brick tile set in a herringbone
pattern and limiting the marble to a decorative insert. The reclaimed wood
island countertop was also a safer option.
"It looks like a major splurge in the room, but it was actually less expensive
for the cabinet maker to build this custom reclaimed wood top than it would
have been to have an additional quartz slab fabricated," said Rogers.
In terms of hardware, plumbing fixtures and lighting, the designer chose
options that offered the same look as costlier choices at better prices. The
homeowners reused their existing appliances - with the exception of a new
panel-ready dishwasher - because they were relatively new.

50

CHALLENGES OVERCOME

SOURCES
DESIGNER: Jessica Rogers,

Simmer & Soak

PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris

Moncus, Chris Moncus
Photography
BACKSPLASH: Ken
Mason; CABINETRY &
WOOD COUNTERTOP:

AWD Custom Cabinetry;
DISHWASHER: Bosch;
FAUCET: Delta;
HARDWARE: Richelieu;
MARBLE DETAIL: Elon
Tile; PENDANTS: Arteriors;
QUARTZ COUNTERTOP:

IGM

The demolition crew was in charge of removing
a cumbersome copper island hood and keeping it
intact so the clients could sell it.The crew then had
to repair the beams once the hood was removed.
"We thought the beams continued under/
through the top of the hood, but unfortunately we
were wrong," said Rogers. "Both the large center
beam and the smaller side beams were cut at the
hood, so when we removed it there was a great
deal of patching to do. These same beams appear
in other areas of the home, so it was very important
that when we were done they looked exactly as
they did before we started."
Another challenge was that the existing
flooring, which was to be kept in place, did not
continue under the island and peninsula being
removed. According to the designer, it was also
difficult to locate and match new flooring with
the existing material.
The final obstacle was that both sides of the
room were not the same length. Rogers and her
team built a large cased opening to align with
the shorter wall so the kitchen had well-defined
starting and stopping points. They added a small,
built-in cabinet area in the remainder of the space
on the longer wall.
"We made smart decisions and transformed
a room that looks much more expensive than it
actually was,"said the designer."An added benefit
to working with Simmer & Soak is that not only
do we design the projects, but we also provide all
of the material, and our team of artisan contractors
performs a full-service, turn-key installation.This
is all included in the pricing of this project." 

Kitchen & Bath Business / SEPTEMBER 2017 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of KBIS (KBIS.com)
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Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2017

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