Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2019 - 72

DESIGN WITH

Connecting to the Kitchen
A designer crafts the ideal home for his family on ancestral land
MICHAEL SCHLABACH RECENTLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY and challenge
of a lifetime: designing a house for his wife and four young children on farmland owned by his Amish grandfather.
"It is the same farm my father worked - my young self in tow - for a number of years before changing the trajectory of his and my own life by starting
his own cabinet shop,"said Schlabach, who now works at the family company,
Schlabach Wood Design, in Baltic, Ohio."Building this hilltop home would
give me a panoramic view of the rest of the farm, filled with family memories."

INSPIRED SPACE PLANNING

For the kitchen in this special house, the designer and his wife had one primary goal: to have the space become the core of the home.The first drawing
of the house, which was done initially on SketchUp, started with the kitchen
at the center of the layout, and each room was layered around it.
As the design process continued, Schlabach felt inspired by Frank Lloyd
Wright's prairie style and incorporated signature characteristics like a lowpitched roof; broad, overhanging eaves; and an open floor plan.
"But the design lacked the cantilever concept,"said Schlabach, explaining
that a cantilever is a beam supported only at one end, with the load carried
over the overhang. "So we applied that concept in the interior with the
second-story balcony cantilevered out over the kitchen."
The kitchen is now part of an expansive great room, which shares its views
of the surrounding farmland with several other areas of the home.
"The result was that you could literally be in the kitchen and feel a part of
the activities in the office, studio, dining area, entry, living room, mudroom,
laundry, pantry and upstairs common area," said the designer.

ABOVE "As a professional

kitchen designer, when it came
time to ﬂesh out the details
of my home, the thought was
slightly overwhelming," said
Schlabach, who was assisted by his wife in choosing
a Scandinavian theme. "I've
helped clients achieve so
many interesting designs, but
it is easy in that process to lose
sight of what I enjoy and want
for myself."
The project splurges were the
Cambria quartz countertops,
the tiled backsplash and
the cabinet lighting. These
were oﬀset by using lessexpensive materials in the
rest of the home.

By ERINN LOUCKS

THINKING BIG

With this large and open space, Schlabach's main
challenge was designing a kitchen that was not
diminished by the tall ceilings and the impressive
views. One of the ways he balanced it with these
elements was by incorporating a Scandinavian
style, which was chosen by his wife.
This type of style calls for cozy simplicity, so
while bigger appliances and features were necessary to fill the grand space, elaborate colors or
textures were taken off the table. Instead, Schlabach installed large and unadorned appliances
like a 36-in. range and a 48-in. integrated fridge.
A custom-built wood hood - designed in a simple
geometric shape - complements the large range
and provides a focal point.
The massive island with seating on three sides
was also an important part of filling the space.
Schlabach originally designed it with a sink so
the homeowners could face the view while washing dishes.
"My wife instead wanted the island to remain a
large, open counter, which she thought would be
useful for anything from food prep to homework,"
said the designer. "In the end, my wife's reasoning
won out, and I am so glad it did."

/ JULY-AUG. 2019 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

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Kitchen & Bath Business - July/August 2019

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