Beautiful Warmth
This beautiful bathroom incorporates some of my favorite elements. The clients wanted a sleeker take on “coastal decor” and the rugged beauty of driftwood is mimicked at the floating sink bases with “split wallnut timber”, a very sustainable new door style from Plato Woodwork. The easy care stone look porcelain tile is beach-y with the mixed hues of sand that give a timeless appeal to this new take on coastal. I love it all but one of my favorite elements is the towel warmer on the wall! This sleek piece from Runtal is a radiator as well as a way to get your towels toasty on a chilly morning. The Runtal products come in a wide variety of colors and styles that eliminates so many design dilemmas when remodeling. There are hydronic models as shown in the bathroom above as well as quite a variety of electric models as shown in the pictures below provided by Runtal. Heat is of course a necessity but rethink it and make your warmth beautiful.
🙂 Toni
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.
New Traditional….. Toni Sabatino Style
New Traditional is my way of giving traditional an up-to-date vibe without trying to hide it’s conventional nature. In this Connecticut kitchen remodel, I gave a nod to time honored crystal lighting by using a pendant that displays the crystals in a new way. We also took that tradtional classic of crackled subway tile and made that new by adding a contemporary linear strip of stone and glass. The result?
New Traditional that honors the past but brings the present into view….
TONI SABATINO toni@tonisabatinostyle.com 516-972-5455
Window Seats
Window seats have always held a certain charm to me. They remind me of a childhood I would like to have had! There is some unexplained expectation the outside world offers from the comfy safety of that vantage point. Awkward walls, due to doorways and traffic flow that cannot hold a couch or pair of chairs can become a focal point by adding some shelves and creating that cozy extra seating that is perfect for sitting and dreaming on a rainy day…………
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
Richly Remodeled………
Everything about this Long Island, New York, kitchen is indeed Lovely! As part of a design team including A.B. Lake Construction, Bruce Spenadel AIA (architect for project including kitchen addition and other remodeling enhancements), Introspect Interiors (tile, granite, paint, lighting and fabric selection), I was responsible for space planning, window placement, cabinetry design, banquette and bookcase design, molding design and implementation of all. I wanted the cabinetry to have a sense of importance, a feeling of richness as the room was to have high ceilings and tall windows. Working with an existing commercial hood, commercial grade range and subzero refrigerator, I decided to forgo reuse of the stainless hood and instead used a wood hood and devised a way to panel the refrigerator to add warmth. With the hood as a center focal point, I used large scale cabinet doors and trims to create balance. The room also incorporates a table area that includes a wall of cabinetry with a banquette bench and bookshelves that not only allow for additional seating and storage but also add rich personality with cookbooks and personal momentos. Finished room…………..yes, rich and lovely…..
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Long Island, NY…….”Linda Cookin’ Good”
This kitchen remodel comprises elements of rustic finishes, antiques and contemporary architecture with the vaulted ceiling. The owners wanted an open airy space complementing the adjoining family room with a rustic theme, soft beigy rose tones and rustic knotty alder wood cabinetry. Cookin’ good!
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
Her Room For Everything………….
Her “room for everything” is a room that incorporates attractive storage for the “stuff” that just happens……..a desk to keep the clutter of catalogs, recipes and scrapbooking projects out of the kitchen, a place to sew, a place for toys to amuse the granchildren, a place not far from the kitchen to print emails, new cooking and entertaining ideas, a place for household files, a place for post cards and notes………well, simply “everything”. We chose a rich dark walnut wood complemented by happy light teal fabric corkboard and wallpaper to create her soothing space. The innocent looking desk consists of custom cabinetry that incorporates a rollout printer station, a place for the sewing machine with it’s own hidden rollout table and plenty of other storage. We also incorporated lots of open shelving for family photos, trophies, figurines, momentos and books. Our finished product is visually inviting and super functional.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Butler’s Pantry
You can almost hear him pouring the champagne and slicing the strawberries……this butler’s pantry is used to store wine, glassware and serving pieces, as well as preparing canapes and hors d’oeuvres and all the luscious bits of “tipple and snack” that make for truly opulent living…….. ah,salut……la bonne vie!
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
Color Specialist
Masterful color specialist, Tami, also owner of the Harborview Salon, of Northport, New York, requested my assistance in updating her space and creating some badly needed additional storage. We chose to create some espresso colored cabinetry with mirrored inserts to be installed over the washing stations. Next came the Benjamin Moore classic color pallette. We chose a two tone theme in warm hues that complement most skin tones, much like the current trend for two tone hair. Truly, Tami has been doing two tone hair for almost a decade now and has always been ahead of her time. After the paint came some inserts of grasscloth look vinyl wallpaper to update the existing beech colored laminated cabinetry and reception and a few pieces of fabulous art from the Lamantia Gallery and the masterful colorist is surrounded by masterful color.
TONI SABATINO tonisab@optonline.net 516-972-5455
tonisab 