Phasing in a Great Kitchen By Cindy Vargo Siok Appeared in the Hawaii Home + Remodeling magazine, Volume I, Number 6, June 2002

The stone sculptor who lives at this Maunawili home decided to build at the back of the residence. That plan soon expanded to include a master badroom suit above the studio. Eventually, the homeowners decided that, after the studio and bedroom were completed they would temporarily move into the new space and have the rest of their home, including their kitchen, remodeled.

The couple worked with Ritsuko "Ritsy" Seta, ASID, and Paul Noborikawa, ASID and AIA, of ADI Design Group, and with Alex Butchart of Highline Kitchen Systems to create their new dream house.

Seta, an interior designer, created a new floor plan for the home and laid out a master plan. Butchart, a Certified Kitchen Designer, was able to fine-tune the kitchen and bathroom designs. He supplied Pacific Design cabinets and worked with the homeowners on the types of cabinet accessories they wanted and were they wanted them. Butchart recommended using glass cabinets above the kitchen desk area and facing living room. He also made lighting suggestions and found appliances that both worked within the kitchen space and possessed the features the homeowners wanted.

"Alex was really instrumental in finding appliances that would accommodate the spaces we had," says the homeowner.

During the first phase of construction, Highline Kitchen Systems installed a smaller kitchenette and a full bath in the studio and a grand master bath upstairs. The main kitchen project was tackled after the couple moved their household into the studio. Highline Kitchen Systems also installed matching cabinetry for an entertainment area and completed a powder room near the kitchen.

The entire project took about nine months. Today, the sculptor finally has the work studio he first envisioned, and a whole new house to go with it.

"It was crowded," the homeowner says of the original kitchen, which included worn-out 35-year-old cabinets. "My wife and I both love to cook, but you couldn't have two people cooking at the same time. We were looking for flow in the kitchen so we could walk around and not bump into each other."

The new kitchen was made wider to accommodeate an island, and the room is more open to the living areas of the home than before.

The homeowner said he especially loves the new stonework in his house; the flooring is a French limestone and the countertops are granite with quartz veins runing through them.

Butchart says he is pleased with the overall elegance of the new kitchen.

"The layout works well with the new island space and eating counter," says Butchart. "I enjoyed working with Ritsy. She's a good designer and had a good layout."

Seta returns the compliment, noting that she worked with Butchart on a number of previous projects and enjoys working with him.

The new kitchen, she explains, is based on the lifestyle of the homeowners.

"Being an artist, the homeowner had a lot of creative ideas, and we now have the character of the homeowner in the house," Seta says. "He really got what he wanted. "

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