HOuse on Roma
Kitchen and Mud Room Cabinetry in Downtown Albuquerque
THe Design
This project started with a young couple who fell in love with a house. It’s a hundred plus year old bungalow and when they bought it had been stripped down almost to its bones. For the cabinetry they wanted something detail rich that respected the heritage of the house but with a modern edge, something spectacular but not out of place.
We created that traditional feel by leaning into the details. All the doors are raised panels, but in a simple, traditional way. If you look closely you can see that the corners of the panels have a slight angle to them to give them just a bit more sophistication.
We also played with the face frames, sometimes setting the drawers and doors flush with it (where you see the wood next to the drawer faces) and sometimes hiding it behind them. This let us compose the cabinets to give them a structure and grace, to make them look almost like a piece of furniture.
The wood we decided on was, well, spectacular. The drawer fronts and door panels are made out of a set of quilted big leaf maple boards that is some of the most gregarious wood I’ve ever come across. We paired it with hard maps frames for the slight color contrast and because it’s calmness. The pulls and other details are all in black walnut.
We designed and custom built the drawer and door pulls for this kitchen, giving it a look unlike anything else and creating a mid-century feel graced with playfulness. At the same time we were trying to figure out what to do with an old window that was between the kitchen and a porch that had been converted into a finished mud room behind it. Looking at traditional Scandinavian kitchens we decided to add a plate rack between the two rooms and over the sink that would allow light to move through but still give ample storage. The client suggested adding an exposed cup rack next to it which we thought was great, and riffing off our designs for the drawer pulls we went for a cohesive, slatted design.
Shop Crafted Drawer Pulls and Dish Racks
The exposed sides and edges of the cabinets are covered with tongue and groove paneling tailor made for the project
Cabinetry for the laundry/mud room
We wanted the mud room behind the kitchen to rhyme in style but in a utilitarian, less gregarious way. Instead of the fancy wooden pulls the doors are opened with integrated finger pulls. The door panels are hard maple along with their frames. We also built the countertops out of a thick maple slab that will be hard wearing and that not only tops the sink cabinet but also creates an expanse of usable space above the washer/dryer. The sink cabinet is cut into an L shape to give room for the washing machine door to open while still being able to hold a substantial sink.
