Design Studio
Benvenuto and a warm welcome to Butternut, Bluebell Fine Cabinetry & Design’s tribute to the fine cooking and design traditions of Italy and the many wonderful woods of the Americas. While our kitchen is named for the now-rare, subtly grained blonde wood that wraps the island base and backs our glass display cabinet, the molto bello Officine Gullo range, matching hood and solid brass sink grab more immediate attention. Our black steel and solid-brass-accented gas range, with its prep sink, coup de feu and pasta cooking station, is just one of limitless options the respected Florentine manufacturer offers in its line of bespoke metal cooking appliances and accessories. Officine Gullo represents both timeless design and top performance—tradition and innovation—to set the stage for a cooking and dining experience that engages all your senses.
At left, the electric hearth oven by Monogram delivers the performance of a wood-fired brick oven and restaurant-worthy results right in your kitchen, but it uses a 240v connection, requires no ductwork, fits flush in a standard 30-inchwide cabinet and is Wi-Fi-enabled. Choose temperatures from 80° to 1300°F: the oven’s catalytic component removes the smoke and discharges the heat at 200°F.
BLUEBELL DESIGNER: Peter Cardamone
BUILDER: Ernst Brothers + Builders
PHOTOGRAPHY: Jason Varney
STYLING: Kristi Hunter
“I was aiming for an Italian country kitchen whose centerpiece would be a classically beautiful range from the Officine Gullo line that’s based in Florence,” says Peter Cardamone, founder and creative director for Bluebell Fine Cabinetry & Design.
“I love how the various materials—the stone, metals, woods—are beautifully integrated in this kitchen. It’s not something most people think about or notice, but the designers’ plan and installers’ skills created precise lines where materials meet up, allowing for their varied expansion and contraction rates. That precision ensures the room’s integrity, so you know that this kitchen won’t start to look worn in a couple years just from its own materials working against each other.”
Butternut, also called “white walnut,” is a light-colored wood, native to the eastern U.S. and southeast Canada. It’s very stable, with little tendency to warp or crack in use. Unfortunately, a blight has been killing the trees since the late 1960s, making the wood extremely rare. We work with manufacturing partners who can source many materials, from exotic or rare woods to durable metals and stones, so that the kitchens our designers create remain gorgeous and unique years from now.
Inchyra Blue
GAS RANGETOP
Gulfstream
REFRIGERATOR DRAWERS
Officine Gullo—pronounced awf eh CHEE nay GOO low was founded in Florence, Italy, by Carmelo Gullo, who was determined to revive the 19th-century Florentine cooking traditions and skills that were once the darlings of the European upper middle class. Partnering with local mechanical workshops and artisans to design and shape such noble metals as highthickness steel, burnished copper, cast iron and brass, Officine Gullo creates bespoke luxury metal kitchens known world-wide for their handcrafted, prestigious metal finishes and modern food prep and storage technology.
After visiting Florence to learn more about the company’s products and the family who helms the design and manufacturing, Pete returned home to enthusiastically introduce the region to Officine Gullo. Grazie mille, Pete.
Range: Officine Gullo 97.5” gas range in black enameled steel and solid brass with 4 burners, prep sink, coup de feu, pasta cooking station, oven and cabinetry
Hood: Officine Gullo in black enameled steel and solid brass
Stone:
Cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, painted black with brass accents to match Officine Gullo range
Cabinet hardware: Turnstyle Designs in solid brass
The 97.5-inch Officine Gullo range in Butternut’s kitchen features 4 burners, coup de feu, pasta cooking station, prep sink, oven and cabinetry. Shown here in black steel with solid brass accents is just one of OG’s many combinations of colors, accent metals, custom sizes and accessory features. Your vision, your choice.
The coup de feu, at center, with a central extractable plate, allows you to cook at various temperatures, from 850°F in the middle to 300°F on the sides, by sliding pots around the large surface. On the right, the pasta cooking station with lift-out baskets provides immediate boiling water from a tank below the equipment; with a flip of a lever, the water drains to the kitchen waste line.
The Italian marble panel’s extraordinarily lovely veining is set to be seen and admired. Who needs artwork?
Integrated undershelf lighting lends a warm glow to the butternut paneling across the back and sides of this display cabinet. It’s a perfect spot for your favorite vases and serving pieces so they can be appreciated when not on the table. The dark steel and glass doors allow you to view not just the contents, but also the subtle cathedral grain of the knotty rustic butternut.
Natural light pouring through the floor-to-ceiling window gives a different look to the butternut wood at this end of the island. Hidden here behind the precisely fitted panels are two deep storage drawers and two that are refrigerated. Generous yet subtle cutouts replace hardware pulls to access these and the other drawers, cabinets and roll-outs around the island, which hold a variety of custom storage options to try.
Island countertop: Grothouse edge-grain Peruvian walnut
Cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, knotty rustic butternut with random kerfs, Country Sun-washed finish
Refrigeration: Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers
We’ve had our photographer climb onto Butternut’s island so you don’t have to, and we believe the viewing angle is worth the effort! How else are you to get the visual impact of this trio of metal, wood and stone? Side by side, the richly beautiful solid brass sink and faucet, dark Peruvian walnut butcherblock and dramatically veined Calacatta marble truly bring out the best in each other.
And for something you can’t see, no matter where you stand in this kitchen: the InvisaCook electromagnetic induction cooktop. The dual unit is set below the marble countertop to the left of the sink. All the controls are hidden beneath the counter. With induction, only the pan and its contents heat: once the pan is removed, the marble is only slightly warm to the touch, making it very safe for use around children.
Let’s talk about all the ways to configure kitchen storage, since Butternut is a treasure trove of options from the formal to the utilitarian. Behind the tall cabinets of flat-cut hickory on the left-hand wall are a refrigerator and a freezer and two differently featured pantries. Tucked into the corner here is—ta dah!—an appliance garage with its handy overhead door that slides up out of your way. Stand mixer? Panini grill? Smoothie blender? All three would fit.
Range wall cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, painted black with brass accents to match Officine Gullo range
Tall perimeter cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, flat-cut hickory in Nutmeg finish
Hardware: Turnstyle Designs in solid brass on lower cabinets, leather-wrapped solid brass or leather straps with brass accents on wall cabinets
Island countertop: Grothouse edge-grain Peruvian walnut butcherblock
Range wall stone: Calacatta Viola honed marble
At either side of the range, our wooden cabinetry is painted black with brass accents to complement Officine Gullo’s styling. Each drawer offers up more custom storage possibilities to make your life easier. To the immediate left of the range is one of our favorites: a cabinet that rolls out to put spices, vinegars and oils—or whatever you need most often—right at the chef’s fingertips.
Cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, painted black with brass accents to match the Officine Gullo range
This is what we mean when we say our multitude of custom storage options make putting things away and finding them again so much easier. This drawer is particularly abundant with ideas such as cut-outs to hold specific tools, fixed sectioning just as you like it and leather drawer bottoms for less sliding and banging about.
Tricked out with a half-height set of drawers and well-lighted walnut interior, this pantry cabinet is perfect for flatware and table linens. A second pantry features a sturdy bifold door that opens fully to access adjustable shelving and deep-drawer storage combinations for bulky items and appliances.
Hardware: Turnstyle Designs leatherwrapped solid
Stone:
Precision craftsmanship and attention to detail show in the exacting fit consistent in every inch of a Bluebell kitchen, whether it’s the work of our amazing designers, one of our top-notch manufacturing partners or our own artisan installers. Any gap is wholly intentional, created to account for the different characteristics of the mix of materials.
Stone: Calacatta Viola honed marble countertop
Island base: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, knotty rustic butternut with random kerfs, Country Sun-washed finish
Island countertop: Grothouse edge-grain Peruvian walnut butcherblock
These leather strap handles with brass accents, which are used on the half-height cabinets shown here and those holding the hearth oven, coordinate with the leather-wrapped solid brass hardware on the tall hickory perimeter cabinets. Practical and attractive, the brass will gradually wear and age to a rustic patina. Very Italian countryside kitchen.
Hardware: Turnstyle Designs leather straps with brass accents
Cabinetry: Premier Custom Built for Bluebell, flat-cut hickory in Nutmeg finish
