“S
ee you in the Spring!” “See you in the Fall!” “See you in the Spring!” Such was the typical salutation between Diana Liinangi and Carol Van Zile, who for several years saw each other at brief intervals during the semiannual High Point Market. When she isn’t moonlighting twice a year at the furniture show’s information booth, Liinangi works as a Montessori teacher’s assistant for the Guilford County Schools. Imagine coming home after a busy day in the classroom to relax with an afternoon snack or a cuppa something — in a kitchen that you hated. “It was ugly!” Liinangi said of the room, which was original to her house in Summerfield. When she and her husband, Marty, first moved into it about twenty years ago, they found the brown oak cabinets, dark stained floor and painted tile “so beautiful.” By spring of this year, not so much. Especially when the stove quit working. “I thought, ‘Well, if I need a new stove, I need to get a new countertop. Well, if I need a new countertop, I might as well get new cabinets,” Liinangi says. Van Zile, a designer for Marsh Kitchens, was just the person to help. “I went to Carol, and I don’t even think I knew what I wanted,” Liinangi remembers. “All I knew is, I wanted something lighter.” Van Zile recalls her client requesting white. “And I said, ‘white is so harsh. Let’s do light gray.’” But before she started implementing a design, Van Zile coordinated with contractor Jim Martin, owner of Martin Construction. He and his crew would need to remove the old cabinets and appliances, take out an entire section of damaged drywall behind the old backsplash, replace the wiring underneath, and refinish the floors — in the living room and foyer, as well as the kitchen. (“Because,” says Liinangi, “if you’re going to have these floors done, you might as well get new carpet [for the living room].”) Liinangi says that Martin also brought something unheard-of to the equation — a familial atmosphere among subcontractors and client that resulted in a convivial renovation. “I work based on relationships,” he explains. “To be the contractor and try to create a positive experience?” he posits, “That’s where Carol and I work really well.” The two recreated Liinangi’s kitchen into a harmonious flow of of varying gray shades with playful bursts of color. For a while Liinangi considered installing a bright red island. “I was all for it,” Van Zile says. “But at the eleventh hour Diana chickened out. You can have pops of color with the stuff that we’ve done,” The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Van Zile notes referring to the red glass globes that Butler Lighting provided, the red tea kettle and the retro red platter (a gift from Liinangi’s in-laws) hanging over the stove. “But a red island is still a red island. You’d have to paint over it.” Instead, she chose a charcoal hue called Greystone. “It’s all maple, so you can actually see the wood grain on the cabinet come through.” Martin points to an unusual feature in Van Zile’s design, a cubbyhole for the microwave at knee level. “I didn’t want it to be the focal point,” she explains. “We have a nice hood, we wanted people to look at the hood. They don’t use their microwave all the time, but it’s still convenient.” Van Zile thinks of the kitchen in theatrical terms: The island and hood are the “stars” of this show and therefore more noticeable in the darker Greystone. Similarly, Marble Granite World’s mottled countertop in leathered granite catches the eye before the “supporting cast,” the darker shiny granite around the kitchen’s periphery, topped off with Marsh’s line of light gray, Shaker-style, full overlay cabinets with center panels. These are set off by just a touch of white: oversized subway tiles (4 x 16, as opposed to the usual 3 x 6), “a modern spin,” Van Zile notes. The entire kitchen is a blend of Marsh’s offerings, built in its High Point factory, and Van Zile’s designs specific to the space — the corner compartment for the coffeemaker, the end shelves with cookbooks and nickknacks facing the back door, the shelf and wine rack at the end of the island — built in Greensboro. “It’s a nice custom look, but still keeps things at an affordable price point,” the designer offers. She was fortunate to have a willing client — though Liinangi balked at having glass doors on the cabinets. “I didn’t want people to come in and see my dishes,” she says. She did agree to just one cabinet with a hammered glass door that only suggests what lies behind it. “Sometimes,” says Van Zile, “You just need to, visually, break things up.” And by the time the construction party broke up — a mere month after the project started — Liinangi started feeling wistful. “The electrician stopped by, and we’re like, ‘We’re gonna miss you guys!’” But before the good-byes an inauguration of the kitchen was in order: At press time, a celebratory twelve-pack appeared on the matte-finish granite countertop. “Everybody on this project became friends,” Martin says. “We were even thinking about forming a bowling league!” OH Nancy Oakley’s galley-sized kitchen is barely efficient but always convivial. October 2015
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