HouzzTV “Small Kitchen Gets Big Kitchen Style” featuring Toni Sabatino
Creating dream kitchens for single family palaces is a good portion of my work. Giving that expansive feel to a smaller footprint is a challenge I enjoy as well. To do that I really need to feel how you function. I want to feel how you live and interact. I want to create a space that has room for kids’ art, pet bowls, Costco runs, phone chargers, PTA calendars and still suits all your entertaining needs. I want to know who is cooking what and when so we have a tv for the morning news or easy access to the outdoor bar-b-q. I want to know if wine storage is important or if a built-in coffee system would really make your kitchen special and keep you from running out to Starbucks in your yellow fuzzy robe! Feeding our family and friends really feeds our soul and makes us happy. I want to help you outfit your kitchen to make the most of home celebrations and everyday living.
So, here I am with Ellen, talking about how we made her kitchen function for her specific needs.
My great appreciation for the work of Rick Spence and deepest thanks to the team at Houzz.com for featuring me in this promotional video.
Magic, mayhem and my love of appliances…….
Thursday I had the pleasure of attending The Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier94 in the city. For me, center stage and the stars of the show, were the appliances. Among the items displayed by American Range was my favorite 60″ range with the 22″ gridlle perfect for making those big Sunday breakfasts I adore. Fhiaba takes refrigeration to a new level in my opinion, by allowing the user to change certain segments from refrigeration to freezer or vice versa in a matter of 2 hours–ordinary magic, indeed.
Then there was Thermador , whose design and price point make it my standard for discerning clients. The Thermador booth is picturedat 6:30 pm, wine flowing and people packing themselves in. On display, the new 48″ Pro Grand Range with built in steam oven and the versatile refrigeration columns displayed with wine storage and wood panelled faces that really show off the superior hinge design.
I love appliances!
TONI SABATINO toni@tonisabatinostyle.com 516-972-5455
Subtle Sparkle…..Kitchen Addition
Working with this client was wonderful. She came to me through an architect friend to create her dream kitchen. My client has wonderful taste, preferring soft subtle hues and rich texture and detail. She wanted a pallette of soft greys with dark wood and white for contrast. An addition would give us the space we needed but marrying ceiling heights and choosing and locating windows to create something truly special was the challenge. I created a kitchen “L” as a work triangle, a large island and a window wall incorporating a table height counter and long glass cabinets to showcase the windows and frame the view to the yard. The creation of a contemporary “mantle hood” with sheetrock structure and stainless and tile detail give an up to date but unique feel. The glass backsplash and hood detail add that “subtle sparkle” that makes the room really special. Dream kitchen…….and dream client!
516-972-5455
Westhampton Beach Kitchen for the “19th Hole”
This remodel is of an old Westhampton house that has had many additions over the years. The kitchen had some character from original rustic beams at the entrance but the cabinets, formica counters and painted tile backsplash had a dated feel. The owner had a wish list of appliances including a 48″ commercial range, big refrigerator, ice maker, warming drawer, built in microwave and two dishwashers. We rearranged the floorplan to accomodate all of the appliances and also allow for a breakfast bar with 5 stools, a tv for the cook to watch “Food Network”, and a spot for the phone and a water cooler. A shade of buttermilk yellow with espresso glaze and beautiful Ayers Green granite give the room a unique updated feel. Owl glass pendants from tech lighting and a fun mosaic tile splash finish off the look.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
His and Hers…( or house therapy for the therapists…)
Working for a couple that have quite different visions of their kitchen needs is always a challenge but can be a pleasure! In this case, a lovely women wanted a “pretty, country French feel” and her counterpart was looking for something “industrious and manly…..you know, for serious cooking”…(Oddly enough, they are both therapists and have a major impact in helping people make sense of their lives…Could I help them make sense of their kitchen?)…. Here, we have certainly accomplished all goals. The integration of a French patterned golden travertine floor, stunning Blue Bahia counters, stainless appliances (including a “real” commercial range), whimsical pendants and creamy wood tones create a warm, lovely environment that satisfies both “Him and Her”.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Another Suburban Remodel Lives Happily Ever After…….
Updating a home can become very expensive, and the ability to make reasonable dreams come true within a reasonable budget is one of my best “Fairy Houzz Mother” tricks…..Dark cabinets don’t have to make the kitchen look smaller. This kitchen was a 1980’s white formica laminate with radius ends and a truly dated look. This alder wood cabinetry in a rich dark finish mixed with sunny golden tones creates warmth without giving the kitchen a “closed in” feel. Reworking the plan within the existing footprint created more storage and a better work flow without the expense of an addition….and so both the budget and
the kitchen lived happily ever after……
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Installation by Ross Portenoy,
Touch of Class Home Improvements, Long Island, NY
Kitchen for a Sunny Seaside Retreat
This kitchen remodel took it’s inspiration from some wooden wall art with a boating motif. The room needed updating but there was a desire to keep some of the home’s cozy personality. The artwork and charts reflected the home owners’ love of the sea and created a wonderful pallette for texture and color. We decided to keep the old natural pine panelling, painting it a sunny shade of Benjamin Moore MACADAMIA NUT 191. Cabinetry with “pegged doors” from Dura Supreme was chosen to keep with the rustic textural theme. Stainless appliances with a more contemporary hood style add visual interst and give the room an eclectic balance of elements. Cambria solid surface counters in “Canterbury” color and mosiacs with copper accents in the backsplash add vibrancy to the look. Sunny, warm, functional space by the sea…………..
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Dining In……….
When designing a spatially challenged suburban kitchen, I often have a conversation that starts something like this, “I want to eat in my kitchen but I have no room. I don’t want to just stick a table against the wall and I don’t like the idea of a breakfast bar where we are all line up…….it isn’t conversational. What can I do?” My favorite solution is some variation of what I like to call a “dine in peninsula”. This solution provides a conversational place to have a meal while adding off meal time working counter and additional storage. This home in Garden City, New York is an example of a simple, but decorative and functional “dine in” space. The use of glass cabinetry gives it personality and the “chandette” adds warmth and intimacy.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Give Me Shelter
The remodeling of this summer home on Shelter Island, New York, had to create a casual but elegant feel. The challenge was to create an “eat in” kitchen in an area open to the main dining table. As a standard island with stools wouldn’t work due to space restaints, I opted for attaching it to the wall with some book shelves, glass cabinets and a spot for a small tv. The “eating island” allowed me to incorporate additional storage and a comfy place to have a cup of coffee or glass of wine. The slightly distressed, inset cabinets, beadboard splash and brick laid stone tile floor give the room homey warmth and a casual grace.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
A Kitchen All His Own……….
When asked to design a kitchen for this new home, I had very few specific requests…….serious stainless range, island seating, bar sink but the most important request was the look. Richly detailed but “NOTHING GIRLY!” I started with the color scheme of rich dark wood and hand distressed off white. I chose a heavily detailed wood hood to keep the kichen from becoming too industrial. The granite incorporates the shade of gold we used for the walls and the tile design was created to add a regal but manly feel. The room truly has an inviting warmth and a wonderful flow for cooking and entertaining, but no…….there is “nothing girly”.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455 
Homey…… NEW HABITAT
In this project I worked in the capacity of cabinetry expert and salesperson for Daniella Ravn, talented architect and design professional, as well as owner of NEW HABITAT ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, PC, WMBE. Our goal was to create her personal dream kitchen. The room was to function for serious cooking and entertaining. A flow had to be created to service the adjoining living space and “complement” the architectural limitations. I modified Daniella’s original “J” design to a more open plan with a separate island. This change, coupled with her choices of color and materials make for a kitchen that is pleasing to the eye and cook alike.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.com 516-972-5455
Kitchen Condo Corner
I am not such a big fan of “after and before” as my nature is to constantly look forward. What can we do?…… as opposed to what we did. However, a client sent these to me and was truly amazed at the transformation of her space, so I thought I would share that. Part of the challenge of working in a small space is to find innovative ways to get appliance clearances to work without using a lot of “fillers”. Our cluttered little corner now incorporates inovation as well as wine storage and high style with bamboo cabinetry, glass splash and solid surface counters.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Transitioning to the Suburbs
This kitchen was part of a major home remodel. The new homeowners wanted to create an open, airy environment that would enable them to meld their eclectic tastes and the furnishings from two homes in the boroughs of New York City. The desire for an island and an eat-in kitchen led us to open a wall and create a dual level island to serve as work space and table. The addition of white glass tile and a fabulous contemporary chandelier balanced the wood floor and traditional chairs. The result is user friendly for cooking and entertaining alike.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
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