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.
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
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
tonisab 