cessories over the last several years. Last summer, they focused on the kitchen, which they’d spruced up 10 years before. “It was just really tired and ready for a complete refresh,” says Allison. “I wanted to bring it into the 21st century.” To help, she called in Emma Legg and Sydney Foley of Greensboro’s Kindred Interior Studios. The duo, both 32, became friends when they were interior design students at High Point University. Each worked for other design shops before joining forces. They’d helped the Gants with smaller projects, and the Gants liked the way the young designers understood and applied their tastes. Emma and Sydney believed they could continue to capture the couple’s essence, especially Allison’s love of boisterous colors. “I’m not a beige girl,” Allison confirms. As for her husband, Allison says, “He’s gracious enough to live with what I choose.” For this project, Allison picked a bright teal backsplash that leaps out against newly pale cabinets and walls. The old backsplash, done with 1-inch tile squares, contained some teal accents, along with nips of brown to tie into brown granite counters, but it packed nothing like the aquamarine punch of the new backsplash, which comThe Art & Soul of Greensboro
prises several shades of the color. “You have your showstoppers,” explains designer Emma, alluding to the new turquoise wall and an island that repeats the color. “In order for those to shine, we kept everything else neutral.” To stay within the budget, all parties agreed they would stick with the kitchen’s L-shaped footprint — no walls would be added or removed — and they chose to preserve the cabinet boxes, as well as the island. They also agreed not to change the location of lighting fixtures. “There was some construction, but it was minimal,” says Emma. “It was in between a cosmetic and gutted-to-the-studs renovation.” The upgrade was managed by general contractor Kevin Reeves of J&K Builders of NC, based in High Point. The renovation involved a cabinetmaker building an “appliance garage” around what had been a catch-all desk incorporated into a wall of light brown cabinetry. The “mom desk,” as Sydney calls it, was original to the 1988 home. It served as a workbench for the tools of family life: mail, papers, purses, pens and Allison’s Rolodex. An original NuTone intercom and radio system was set into the wall above the desk. Out came the intercom and the desk. In went a new cabinet with doors to conceal the coffeemaker, microwave and other small appliances that once populated the countertops. May 2020
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